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MADAGASCAR 


AND 


ITS    MARTYRS. 


A 

BOOK  FOR  THE  YOUNG. 


PHILADELPHIA: 
PRESBYTERIAN  BOARD  OF  PUBLICATION 


i^ 


Stereotyped  by  E.  C.  Allen,  No.  51  Commerce  Street, 
Philadelphia. 


(2) 


rniiTGETOii 


INDEX.    !; 

•^  Til  SO  LOGIC  2:T.v/.- 

PAGE 

I.  Account  of  the  Country  of  Madagascar      •        •        -    11 
II.  Customs  of  the  Malagasy 15 

III.  Religion  of  the  Malagasy 19 

IV.  Early  Visiters  to  Madagascar         •        •        •        •        '22 
V.  Radama,  first  king  of  Madagascar  •        •        •        •    28 

VI.  Christianity  introduced  ......  3(3 

VII.  The  Usurpation  of  Ranavalona      .....  47 

VIII.  Christianity  suppressed  ......  56 

IX.  The  Q,ueen  sends  Ambassadors  to  England    •        •        -65 

X.  The  History  of  Rafaravavy *57 

XI.  Letters  to  the  Missionaries 71 

XII.  Rafaravavy's  House  puUed  down 77 

XIII.  Rafaravavy  under  Sentence  of  Death     ....  80 

XIV.  The  Martyrdom  of  Rasalama 83 

XV.  Four  Christians  in  Slavery 86 

XVI.  The  History  and  Martyrdom  of  Rafaralahy    ...    88 

XVII.  The  Flight 92 

XVIII.  The  Forest 96 

XIX.  Rafaravavy  again 99 

XX.  Rafaravavy  and  Sarah  pursued 103 

XXI.  More  Narrow  Escapes     ..••••.  106 

XXII.  Journey  to  Tamatave Ill 

XXIII.  Journey  to  Tamatave  Continued     .....  115 

XXIV.  A  welcome  in  South  Africa    ...-•-  124 
XXV.  A  Welcome  in  England 128 

XXVI.  More  Martyrs  in  Madagascar 133 

XXVIl.  Sarah's  Illness  and  Death 135 

XXVIIl.  Letter  from  Shagdur 137 

XXIX.  Departure  of  the  Refugees,  and  Letters  from  Madagascar  145 

XXX.  Light  Breaking 150 

XXXI.  Conclusion         •       •       .       - 152 

(3) 


LIST  OF  ENGRAVINGS. 


Explanation  of  the  Frontispiece. 

Rafaravavy,  or  Mary,  sitting  on  the  left. 
Razafy,  or  Sarah,  standing  by  her  side. 
Ratsarahomba,  or  David,  pointing. 
Andrianisa,  or  James. 
Adrianomanana,  or  Simeon,  standing. 
Rasoamaka,  or  Joseph,  on  the  ground. 

PAGE 

Infanticide  in  Madagascar 21 

Queen  Adelaide  and  the  Embassy  from  Madagascar      .       .       .66 
Martyrdom  of  Rasalama 83 


(4) 


(         ■ 

p  R  E  F  ^35  E  J^o  j;  nr  0  ii  iir  J 


As  books  for  children  usually  pass  through 
the  hands  of  parents  or  teachers,  it  is  pre- 
sumed that  the  introduction  of  a  few  prefatory 
observations  to  adult  readers  may  not  be 
out  of  place. 

This  little  book  has  been  compiled  from 
the  Rev.  W.  Ellis's  "  History  of  Madagascar," 
in  two  volumes,  and  from  the  "  Narrative  of 
the  Persecution  in  Madagascar,"  by  the 
Rev.  J.  J.  Freeman,  and  the  Rev.  D.  Johns,  in 
one  volume.  Mrs.  Jeffrey's  "Journal"  has 
also  been  consulted,  and  the  narrative  has 
been  carried  on  to  the  present  time,  by  infor- 
mation obtained  from  the  "  Missionary  Maga- 
zine" for  1840-41.  Those  circumstances  only 
have  been  selected  which  appeared  to  be 
most  likely  to  come  home  to  the  minds  of 
children,  the  abundant  and  interesting  mate- 
rials afforded  by  the  larger  works  rendering 
even  such  a  selection  difficult.  The  frontis- 
piece was  painted  while  the  refugees  were  in 
England. 

1*  V 


VI  PREFACE. 

The  extraordinary  and  deeply  interesting 
events  which  have  recently  transpired  in 
Madagascar,  are  as  yet  but  partially  known. 
For  six  years  the  little  band  of  Christian 
sufferers  in  that  island  have  been  subjected 
to  the  loss  of  property  and  home — to  bonds, 
imprisonment,  and  in  some  instances  to  death. 
Surely  it  is  high  time  that  the  sympathy  and 
prayers  of  all  Christian  people  should  be  en- 
listed in  their  favour. 

It  is  hoped  that  the  illustrations  of  Christian 
principle  thus  brought  to  view  may  not  be 
unprofitable  to  the  youthful  reader.  In  this 
favoured  country,  where  the  young  convert 
meets  with  so  little  to  try  his  faith  and 
steadfastness,  it  may  be  well  to  set  before  him  a 
piety  which  can  endure  the  loss  of  all  things, 
and  count  not  life  itself  dear  to  win  Christ. 
And  in  a  day  when  the  word  of  God  seems 
in  danger  of  being  made  of  none  effect  by 
the  traditions  of  men,  it  may  not  be  without 
advantage  to  present  an  example  of  Christian- 
ity in  simplicity  and  purity,  and  to  show  how 
the  word  of  God  alone,  without  even  the  stated 
means  of  pastoral  superintendence  and  of 
public  ordinances,  has  been  proved  sufficient 
as  a  rule  of  faith  and  conduct,  and  has  led 


PREFACE.  Vll 

to  the  highest  and  holiest  manifestations  of 
Christian  character. 

To  the  C^rz5//fl7i,  Madagascar  is  an  object  of 
intense  interest.  In  converts  whose  principles 
have  been  matured  in  an  atmosphere  of 
surrounding  heathenism,  and  in  opposition  to 
the  force  of  early  association,  he  finds  an 
elevation  and  consistency  of  character  which 
many  under  the  favouring  influence  of  Chris- 
tian light  and  liberty  have  failed  to  attain. 
In  regard  to  their  Christian  affection,  the 
testimony  of  their  enemies  is,  "  You  would  be 
surprised  at  the  love  of  these  people  for  one 
another."  "  These  praying  people  w^ould 
sooner  be  cut  to  pieces  than  impeach  their 
companions."  Of  their  conscientious  dis- 
charge of  duty,  "  These  people  would  indeed 
make  excellent  servants,  if  they  would  but 
leave  off  their  religion."  "  Among  the  soldiers 
and  bourgeois  there  are  none  more  upright, 
diligent,  and  trustworthy  than  these  praying 
people."  The  purity  of  their  moral  conduct 
has  been  one  of  the  accusations  against  them, 
and  their  watchful  enemies  have  been  unable 
to  find  any  fault  in  them,  except  "  concerning 
the  law  of  their  God."  Humility  and  gentle- 
ness are  their  prominent  characteristics,  and 


Vlll  PREFACE. 

their  love  to  the  word  of  God  is  touchingly 
evidenced,  in  a  letter,  dated  June  26,  1841. 
In  destitution  of  all  earthly  comforts,  they 
write,  "  You  ask  us  if  we  have  any  wants : 
we  have,  indeed,  one  want — our  Bibles  are 
worn  out." 

Many  centuries  have  passed  since  the  cry 
of  a  hundred  thousand  voices,  in  persecuting 
Rome,  adjudged  "  the  Christians  to  the  lions." 
Far  distant,  in  point  of  time  and  space,  from 
the  sphere  of  those  events  on  which  the 
Christian's  hope  is  based,  he  has  a  fresh  proof 
of  the  indestructibility  of  that  principle  which 
the  powers  of  this  world  have  so  repeatedly 
laboured  to  extinguish.  Instead  of  having 
become  dim  in  the  lapse  of  ages,  it  bursts 
forth  with  renewed  brightness  and  purity; 
and  no  admixture  of  party  spirit,  no  fainting 
in  the  day  of  adversity,  no  unlawful  haste  for 
martyrdom,  no  vindictive  feeling  towards  the 
persecutor,  has  clouded  that  faith  which  has 
enabled  each  Christian  martyr  of  Madagas- 
car meekly  to  receive  the  fatal  spear,  and 
successively  to  testify,  "I  fear  no  evil" — 
*'  Into  thine  hands.  Lord  Jesus,  I  commit  my 
spirit."  Carried  back  in  imagination  to  the 
days  of  primitive  Christianity,  each  disciple 


PREFACE.  nC 

of  Jesus  here  feels  a  renewed  conviction,  that 
he  has  "not  followed  cunningly  devised  fables," 
and  rejoices  in  the  assurance  that  these  blessed 
principles  which  have  lately  won  so  signal  a 
triumph  in  Madagascar,  shall  at  no  distant 
day,  subdue  all  nations  to  the  obedience  of 
faith,  and  maintain  undisputed  empire  through- 
out the  world. 


MADAGASCAR  RE-OPENED. 
[from  the  christian  spectator  of  march,  1853.] 
The  vast,  populous,  and  beautiful  island  of  Mada- 
gascar has  long  been  an  object  of  intense  interest 
to  the  Christian  mind.  It  is  thirty-five  years  since 
missionaries  first  landed  on  its  shores,  where  they 
were  welcomed  and  encouraged  by  Radama,  one  of 
the  most  remarkable  potentates  of  his  day.  The  gos- 
pel was  preached,  numerous  schools  were  established, 
and  the  printing-press  was  actively  employed,  partly 
at  the  cost  of  the  Religious  Tract  Society.  In  1828, 
king  Radama  died,  and  with  the  accession  of  the 
present  queen  all  this  promising  commencement  was 
darkened  ;  at  length,  in  1835,  the  edict  was  issued 
"which  repelled  both  Christianity  and  civilization  from 
Madagascar  ;  the  ports  were  then  closed  against  Eu- 
ropean ships.  The  persecuted  missionaries  were 
compelled  to  flee  to  other  regions,  the  religion  of  Christ 
became  a  crime  punishable  with  slavery  and  death, 
the  congregations  were  dispersed,  forty  or  fifty  of  the 


X  MADAGASCAR  RE-OPENED. 

converted  Malagasses  were  martyred ;  five  hundred 
of  them  escaped  to  the  Mauritius.  During  the  reign 
of  terror,  we  are  told  that  tens  increased  to  hundreds, 
BO  that  thousands  continued  to  study  the  Holy  Scrip- 
tures, to  sanctify  the  Christian  Sabbath,  and  to  meet 
on  the  mountains  and  in  the  caves  of  Madagascar, 
uniting  in  acts  of  love,  obedience,  and  worship  to 
God  and  to  the  Redeemer. 

So  late  as  1851  persecution  was  renewed,  and  the 
Buflferings  of  the  native  disciples  were  great.  The 
accounts  received  of  their  fortitude,  when  brought 
forth  to  martyrdom,  appeal  to  the  most  tender  feel- 
ings of  the  heart. 

The  surviving  believers  have  at  length  their  reward : 
"  The  only  child  of  the  queen,  and  heir  to  the  throne, 
upon  whom  the  government  has  now  devolved,  has 
learned  the  faith  in  which  the  martyrs  died;  and  the 
only  son  of  the  late  persecuting  prime  minister,  the 
bitterest  foe  of  the  converts,  has  professed  himself 
their  friend.'^  With  Christianity,  civilization  re- 
turns, and  the  ports  of  Madagascar  are  to  be  opened 
to  the  missionaries,  and,  at  the  same  time,  to  the 
commerce  of  the  world. 

The  professing  Christians  are  still  numerous.  At 
Tananarive  they  are  said  to  be  five  thousand,  while 
others  are  prepared  to  listen  to  the  gospel.  It  is  now 
for  those  who  once  laboured  and  prayed  for  the  con- 
version of  Madagascar  to  move  forward  promptly, 
and  avail  themselves  of  the  door  which  is  thrown 
open  for  their  admittance. 


MADAGASCAE 


&c. 


SOME  ACCOUNT  OF  THE  COUNTRY  OF  MADAGASCAR. 

Madagascar  is  an  island  off  the  south-east 
coast  of  Africa,  rather  larger  than  Great 
Britain  and  Ireland.  It  is  about  900  miles 
long,  and  from  300  to  400  broad,  and  contains 
upwards  of  4,000,000  of  people.  All  down 
the  centre  of  the  island,  there  runs  a  chain  of 
mountains,  while  the  land  near  the  coast  is 
A'eiy  low  and  damp.  There  are  many  large 
lakes,  in  some  of  which  aie  beautiful  green 
islands,  with  people  hving  on  them.  There 
are  plenty  of  rivers,  down  which  the  natives 
go  in  Uttle  canoes,  hollowed  out  of  the  trunks 
of  trees ;  and  they  sometimes  fasten  their  1am- 
bas,  or  long  robes,  to  a  pole,  for  a  sail.  Some 
of  these  rivers  are  very  narrow.  There  is 
one  river  called  Maty-tanana,  or  "  the  dead 

11 


12  SOME  ACCOUNT  OF  MADAGASCAR. 

hand,"  because  there  is  a  story  that  once  on 
a  time,  two  immense  giants  were  disputing 
on  the  opposite  banks,  when  one  seized  hold 
of  the  hand  of  the  other,  wrenched  it  off,  and 
then  threw  it  into  the  water. 

In  many  places  are  large  caverns  in  the 
rocks.  A  whole  army  was  once  hid  in  one 
of  these  caverns,  while,  without  knowing  it, 
the  enemy  walked  over  their  heads.  In  some 
of  these  caverns,  beautiful  spar  hangs,  like 
icicles,  from  the  roof.  Robbers  often  hide  in 
these  caves,  and  of  late  years  many  of  the 
persecuted  Christians  have  found  shelter  in 
them. 

There  are  also  many  large  forests,  into 
which  if  you  were  to  go  far,  you  would  never 
find  your  way  out  again.  Thither  criminals 
often  escape,  and  there  too,  many  of  the 
Christians  have  hid,  and  perhaps  are  hiding 
now.  In  some  other  parts,  as  well  as  in  the 
forests,  you  might  travel  for  many  miles  in  a 
death-like  solitude,  with  no  sound  but  here 
and  there  the  rushing  of  cataracts,  and  perhaps 
you  would  think  of  the  words  of  Jane  Taylor^ 

"  If  I  could  find  some  cave  unknown, 
Where  human  feet  had  never  trod, 
Yet  there  I  could  not  be  alone, 
On  every  side  there  would  be  God." 


SOME  ACCOUNT  OF  MADAGASCAR.       13 

Some  of  the  lakes  near  the  coast  look  like 
forests ;  the  water  is  shallow,  and  the  green 
plants  grow  in  them  so  luxuriantly  as  to  hide 
the  water. 

There  are  often  violent  hail-storms  with 
dreadful  thunder  and  lightning  in  Madagascar, 
and  sometimes  whirlwinds  and  water-spouts. 
All  the  low  land  near  the  coast  is  very  hot 
and  damp,  and  people  who  stay  there,  fre- 
quently get  the  Malagasy  fever,  which  is  very 
trying  and  dangerous.  About  thirty  miles 
inland,  the  ground  begins  to  rise,  and  the  air 
to  get  cooler,  and  all  the  middle  part  of  the 
island  is  healthy  and  pleasant. 

In  some  parts  there  is  plenty  of  iron,  and 
there  are  other  metals  besides.  The  soil  is 
generally  very  fertile,  and  almost  all  the  trees 
and  plants  which  have  been  taken  thither, 
from  other  countries,  have  grown  well.  There 
are  tamarind  and  fig-trees,  plantains  and  ba- 
nanas, cocoa-nut  and  bread-fruit  trees ;  there 

the  dreadful  tangena  tree,  of  which  you  will 
hear  more  by-and-by;  oranges,  lemons,  peaches, 
pine-apples,  and  mulberries  flourish;  spices 
and  sugar-canes,  cotton,  tobacco,  indigo,  and 
hemp ;  rice,  manioc,  ginger,  and  arrow-root, 
are  grown  in  great  quantities ;  silk  is  culti- 
2 


14  SOME  ACCOUNT  OF  MADAGASCAR. 

vated  largely,  and  coffee  succeeds  well ;  po- 
tatoes have  been  introduced,  and  are  very 
much  liked ;  honey,  wax,  oil,  ebony,  and  gums, 
are  also  to  be  had  in  abundance. 

As  for  animals,  there  are  plenty  of  horned 
cattle,  both  tame  and  wild ;  all  of  which  have 
a  hump  on  their  backs,  like  buffaloes.     There 
are  sheep,  swine,  and  goats ;  wild  hogs,  cats, 
and  dogs ;  beautiful  lemurs,  monkeys,  foxes, 
mice,  and  bats.     There  are  fowls  of  all  kinds 
in  abundance,  and  birds  of  beautiful  plumage 
are  seen  in  the  forests.    Travellers  sometimes 
make  a  supper  of  little  paroquets.     There  are 
scorpions,  lizards,  and   serpents ;  and  croco- 
diles and  alligators  abound  in  the  lakes  and 
rivers.      In   some   parts   the  crocodiles   are 
fifteen  feet  long,  and  in  others  they  are  said 
to  be  much  longer.     These  creatures  often 
seize  on  bullocks  that  come  to  drink,  or  to 
cross  the  stream.     They  often  eat  their  own 
young.     The  little  ones  run  to  the  water  as 
soon  as  they  burst  from  the  shell,  and   some- 
times a  whole  row  of  crocodiles  are  waiting 
to  devour  them.     The  crocodiles  are  partic- 
ularly dangerous  to  dogs,  and  it  is  said,  that 
sometimes  when   a  dog  wants    to  cross   the 
water  alone,  he  will  bark  a  long  time  at  the 


CUSTOMS  OF  THE  MALAGASY.  15 

water-side  to  attract  all  the  crocodiles  to- 
gether, and  will  then  run  away  very  fast,  and 
cross  the  river  further  up,  at  the  place  which 
they  have  left. 


II. 


CUSTOMS  OF  THI  MALAGASY. 

The  people  of  Madagascar  are  called  Mala- 
gasy. They  have  black  hair,  fine  white  teeth, 
and  bright  black  eyes.  Some  are  olive- 
coloured,  others  darker,  and  some  quite  black. 
They  do  not  all  appear  to  have  sprung  from 
the  same  race,  as  some  have  woolly  hair  like 
tlie  negroes,  while  others  are  like  Arabs, 
or  Malays.  Many  of  them  have  high  fore- 
heads, and  fine  intelligent  countenances.  Their 
language  is  very  much  like  that  of  the  Malays, 
and  is  soft  and  musical.  The  vowels  have  the 
French  sound. 

The  houses  are  built  with  sloping  roofs, 
high  in  the  middle,  and  with  long  poles  that 
cross  at  the  top,  and  are  ornamented  at  the 
ends.  The  height  of  the  houses,  and  the  length 
of  the  poles,  is  according  to  the  rank  of  the 
owner.    No  one  dares  build  his  house  higher 


16  CUSTOMS  OF  THE  MALAGASY. 

than  that  of  the  king.  The  good  houses  are  built 
of  wood  or  bamboo :  the  poor  ones  of  mud, 
sometimes  coloured  with  yellow  or  light  pink 
earth.  There  is  only  one  room  in  a  house, 
but  the  rich  often  have  several  houses.  There 
is  no  chimney,  and  the  soot  which  collects 
over  the  fire-place  is  never  cleared  away,  as 
the  more  soot  there  is,  the  more  honourable 
they  think  it  to  the  family.  The  rice-pits  are 
generally  under  ground,  something  in  the 
shape  of  a  bee-hive,  with  a  small  opening  at 
the  top. 

The  people  live  chiefly  upon  rice.  They 
eat  poultry,  beef,  mutton,  veal,  and  lamb,  and 
in  some  parts  pork,  and  the  flesh  of  the  wild 
boar.  And  what  you  will  think  strange,  they 
sometimes  eat  monkeys  and  hedge-hogs, 
grasshoppers  and  silk  worms  in  the  chrysalis 
state,  fried  or  cooked  in  some  particular  way, 
and  great  quantities  of  crocodiles'  eggs.  They 
break  the  shell  off*  these  eggs,  and  then  dry 
them  in  the  sun :  sometimes  one  family  will 
have  a  store  of  as  many  as  five  hundred. 
Hens'  eggs  are  also  eaten,  and  those  which 
have  chickens  in  them  are  thought  a  great 
dainty. 

The  Malagasy  keep  a  cock  roosting  in  the 


CtJSTOMS  OF  THE  MALAGASY.  17 

house  to  call  them  in  the  morning,  and  they 
keep  time  in  the  day  by  the  shadows  on  the 
ground.  They  are  fond  of  going  to  market, 
and  of  hawking  things  about  like  peddlers. 
They  amuse  themselves  with  hunting  wild 
cattle  and  wild  boars.  Sometimes  they  will 
bury  a  poor  fowl  in  the  ground  all  but  its 
head,  and  try  who  can  first  hit  it  with  a  stone: 
he  who  hits  it  may  have  it.  They  much  enjoy  a 
kicking  game,  in  which  they  all  try  to  kick 
one  another  backwards,  like  so  many  donkeys. 
They  are  fond  of  music,  such  as  it  is,  and 
make  poetry  after  a  fashion.  The  men  have 
powerful  voices,  and  sometimes  speak  with 
much  native  eloquence  in  the  open  air  to 
thousands  of  people. 

The  fathers  carry  their  little  boys  sitting 
on  their  shoulders,  and  hold  them  by  one 
hand  to  keep  them  from  falling :  the  mothers 
carry  their  children  on  their  backs,  or  on  their 
sides.  When  the  children  grow  older,  they 
have  a  custom  of  offering  their  mothers  a  piece 
of  money  called  "  fofon  damosina,"  or  "  the 
remembrance  of  the  back,"  meaning  that  they 
do  not  forget  all  the  care  and  kindness  of 
their  mothers  when  they  were  little.  It  would 
2* 


18  CUSTOMS  OF  THE  MALAGASY. 

be  well  if  some  Christian  children  thought 
more  of  it  than  they  do. 

The  servants  in  Madagascar  are  slaves. 
They  are  often  poor  creatures  who  have  been 
taken  prisoners  in  war.  They  receive  no 
wages :  they  must  not  run  away ;  and  their 
masters  may  punish  them  as  severely  as  they 
please,  so  that  they  do  not  kill  them. 

With  the  exception  of  one  little  band  of 
Christians,  of  whom  we  shall  speak  further  on, 
and  a  few  Mohammedans,  the  Malagasy  are 
heathens.  You  will  not  therefore  be  surprised 
to  hear  that  there  is  much  wickedness  among 
them.  They  lie,  and  steal,  and  cheat ;  many 
of  them  are  indolent  and  dirty,  indulge  in  bad 
habits,  and  take  pleasure  in  cruel  sights. 
There  are,  however,  some  pleasant  things 
about  them  even  while  heathens.  They  love 
their  country  and  there  homes.  They  are  duti- 
ful children  and  affectionate  parents.  They  are 
often  sincere  and  generous  in  their  friend- 
ships. They  take  great  care  of  their  sick  rela- 
tives. They  are  very  hospitable  and  kind  both 
to  one  another  and  to  strangers,  and  they  think 
it  a  very  disgraceful  thing  to  be  selfish,  espe- 
cially in  eating  and  drinking. 


RELIGION  OF  THE    MALAGASY.  19 

III. 

RELIGION  OF  THE  MALAGASY. 

The  Malagasy  have  some  idea  that  there 
must  be  a  God  who  made  all  things,  but  they 
know  nothing  about  him.  They  worship 
ugly  wooden  idols.  Some  of  these,  the  chief 
or  national  idols,  must  not  be  seen  uncovered. 
Their  keepers  say  they  are  too  sacred  to  be 
seen :  They  are  kept  in  houses  by  themselves, 
and  the  people  bring  offerings  to  them.  There 
are  more  common  idols  which  are  made  to 
order  by  the  idol  makers,  and  which  the 
people  keep  in  their  houses,  or  carry  in 
some  fold  of  their  dress,  for  they  never  wear 
any  pockets.  The  people  generally  keep  one 
day  in  seven  sacred  to  their  chief  idol :  some 
keep  Friday,  some  Saturday,  some  Sunday, 
according  to  which  idol  it  is  that  they  worship. 
Besides  these  wooden  idols,  they  seem  almost 
to  worship  the  crocodile,  for  when  they  are 
going  to  cross  a  river,  they  say  this  prayer : 
"  O  Crocodile  !  do  not  hurt  us !  we  do  not 
hurt  you:  our  fathers  never  hurt  you,  and 
we  promise  that  our  children  never  shall." 
The  Malagasy  also  worship  at  the  graves 


20  RELIGION  OF  THE  MALAGASY. 

of  their  ancestors.  They  have  no  word  for 
soul,  though  they  seem  to  think  that  something 
remains  of  people  after  they  are  dead : — a 
sort  of  ghost  of  which  they  are  very  much 
afraid.  They  make  fine  tombs  for  themselves 
and  for  their  friends,  and  spend  a  great  deal 
of  money  at  funerals.  When  a  rich  man  dies 
they  bury  money,  clothes,  and  other  things 
with  him. 

The  people  of  Madagascar  are  strong  be- 
lievers in  witchcraft  and  in  the  power  of 
charms,  and  in  lucky  and  unlucky  days  If 
a  poor  little  baby  is  born  on  an  unlucky  day, 
they  think  they  must  put  it  to  death :  some- 
times a  cord  is  tied  rather  tightly  round  its  neck, 
and  then  its  head  is  held  down  in  a  pan  of 
warm  water  till  it  is  dead :  sometimes  it  is 
laid  down  on  the  ground,  at  the  narrow  en- 
trance of  a  cattle-fold,  and  the  cattle  are 
driven  towards  it  into  the  fold,  that  it  may 
take  its  chance  of  being  trampled  to  death. — 
You  may  see  this  in  the  picture. — The  poor 
father  and  mother  are  hiding  their  heads  that 
they  may  not  see  the  death  of  the  child,  for 
they  are  much  distressed  at  losing  it.  If  the 
cattle  ^ould  not  kill  it,  they  think  it  a  sign 


RELIGION  OF  THE  MALAGASY.  21 

that  the  poor   infant  may  be  suffered  to  live, 
but  it  is  very  seldom  that  it  escapes. 

When  people  are  suspected  of  witchcraft, 
they  are  generally  put  to  the  ordeal  of  "  tan- 
gena."  This  is  a  very  disagreeable,  foolish, 
and  cruel  custom ;  but  as  you  wqll  often  hear 
of  it  in  this  book,  it  is  necessary  for  you  to 
understand  what  it  is.  The  person  who  is 
accused  has  first  a  meal  of  rice :  then  he  is 
made  to  swallow  three  pieces  of  the  skin  of  a 
fowl,  and  then  to  drink  a  draught  mixed  with 
the  nut  of  the  tangena  to  make  him  sick,  and 
then  large  quantities  of  hot  water.  If  all  the 
three  pieces  of  skin  come  up,  the  man  is  said 
to  be  innocent,  but  if  only  one  remains  behind, 
he  is  considered  guilty,  and  is  usually  put  to 
death.  Sometimes  the  poor  people  thus  found 
guilty  are  at  once  killed  with  a  club : — some- 
times they  are  crucified ; — sometimes  buried 
alive  : — sometimes  all  their  limbs  are  broken, 
by  throwing  them  from  a  high  rock ;  some- 
times a  good  many  are  put  in  a  large  rice-pit, 
and  boiling  water  poured  in  at  the  top,  and 
they  are  scalded  to  death ;  if  there  is  any  fear 
that  this  will  not  quite  destroy  the  witchcraft, 
the  head  of  a  black  dog  is  cut  off  and  thrown 
into  the  pit. 


22  EARLY  VISITERS  TO  MADAGASCAR. 

Those  who  give  the  tangena  can  easily  make 
the  person  accused  die  under  it.  When  the 
nut  is  very  red,  it  is  a  pretty  sure  sign  that  it 
is  poisonous,  and  the  person  who  takes  it 
generally  dies  in  dreadful  pain. 

It  would  shock  you  too  much  to  tell  you 
of  all  the  cruel  things  that  are  done  in  Mada- 
gascar :  these  few  are  mentioned  that  you  may 
learn  to  pity  those  poor  benighted  people. 

One  would  think  that  the  Malagasy  could 
have  little  enjoyment  in  life  with  the  dread  of 
death  always  hanging  over  them :  their  enemies 
may  at  any  time  accuse  them  of  witchcraft^ 
and  perhaps  bring  them  to  a  violent  death  j 
then  their  friends  sorrow  over  them  "as 
those  who  have  no  hope;"  they  have  no 
bright  world  in  prospect : — they  know  not  of 
the  "  life  and  immortality  brought  to  light  by 
the  gospel." 


IV. 

EARLY  VISITERS  TO  MADAGASCAR. 

Madagascar  is  said  to  have  been  discovered 
by  Lawrence  Almeida,  a  Portuguese,  in  1506. 
In  1642,  the  French  tried  to  form   a  settle- 


EARLY  VISITERS  TO  MADAGASCAR.  23 

ment  there,  having  first  taken  possession  of 
Bourbon,  and  the  Isle  of  St  Mary.  They 
have  again  and  again  tried  to  get  possession 
of  Madagascar,  but  have  never  succeeded : — 
sometimes  the  Malagasy  fever,  sometimes 
quarrels  with  the  natives,  and  sometimes  dis- 
putes among  themselves,  have  obliged  them 
to  give  up  the  attempt.  They  have  often  taken 
missionaries  with  them,  but  their  own  conduct 
has  made  the  natives  think  very  ill  of  their 
religion.  The  Enghsh  also  at  different  times 
have  talked  of  settling  a  colony  on  the  shores 
of  Madagascar : — this  was  proposed  as  early 
as  the  time  of  Charles  II. 

The  seas  around  Madagascar  were  for 
many  years  infested  by  pirates,  who  attacked 
all  the  ships  which  came  in  their  way,  seized 
the  cargo,  and  sometimes  killed  the  crew.  In 
the  year  1721,  the  European  nations  united  to 
put  a  stop  to  these  robberies,  and  sent  out 
squadrons  of  ships  to  burn  the  ships  of  the 
pirates;  the  robbers  themselves  escaped  to 
shore,  and  being  obliged  to  find  out  some 
other  way  of  living,  they  set  the  peaceable 
tribes  of  Madagascar  quarrelling  with  one 
another,  and  persuaded  those  who  conquered 
to  sell  their   prisoners  to  European  slave- 


24  EARLY  VISITERS  TO  MADAGASCAR. 

dealers.  This  was  the  beginning  of  the  slave- 
trade  in  Madagascar.  The  Malagasy  for  a 
long  time  thought  that  the  Europeans  were 
cannibals,  and  that  they  wanted  men  to  kill 
and  eat.  There  is  a  hill  on  the  way  to  the 
principal  seaport,  called  "  The  Hill  of  Weep- 
ing," because  there  the  poor  slaves  first  caught 
sight  of  the  sea  which  was  to  separate  them 
for  ever  from  their  country  and  friends. 

In  1702,  an  English  ship  returning  from 
the  East  Indies,  was  wrecked  on  the  coast  of 
Madagascar.  The  only  one  of  the  crew  who 
was  ever  again  heard  of,  was  a  boy  named 
Robert  Drury,  who  was  kept  as  a  slave. 
This  boy  had  run  away  from  his  parents  to 
go  to  sea  in  this  ship.  O  how  often  during 
his  long  and  dreary  captivity,  did  he  wish 
that  he  had  never  left  them !  After  trying 
many  times  in  vain,  he  at  length  succeeded 
in  making  his  escape,  and  went  on  his  lonely 
way  for  several  days,  till  he  was  stopped  by 
a  wide  and  deep  river.  Just  as  he  was  going 
to  swim  across  the  river,  he  spied  an  alligator 
coming.  He  tried  another  place,  and  another, 
but  there  were  alligators  every  where.  At 
last  he  cut  a  long  stick  into  splinters  for  a  fire- 
brand, and  having  waited  till  it  was  dark,  he 


EARLY  VISITERS  TO  MADAGASCAR.  25 

lighted  his  firebrand  to  frighten  the  alHgators, 
and  swam  across  the  river  on  his  back,  hold- 
ing his  lances  and  hatchet  in  one  hand,  and 
his  firebrand  in  the  other. 

When  Drury  reached  St.  Augustine's  bay, 
no  ships  were  there,  so  he  engaged  in  the  ser- 
vice of  a  chief  Hearing,  after  a  time,  that 
an  English  ship  had  come,  he  WTote  on  a  leaf 
this  sentence : — "  Robert  Drury,  son  of  Mr. 
Drury,  living  at  the  King's  Head,  in  the  Old 
Jewry,  now  a  slave  in  the  country  of  Young- 
oule,  in  the  Island  of  Madagascar."  He 
begged  a  man  who  was  going  to  the  sea-side 
to  give  it  to  the  first  w^hite  man  he  saw. 
When  the  man  came  back,  Drury  asked  what 
was  the  answer.  "  None  at  all,"  he  replied, 
"  for  I  suppose  the  white  man  did  not  like  it, 
since  he  threw  the  leaf  away,  though  I  am 
sure  it  was  as  good,  if  not  better  than  that 
w  hich  you  gave  me ;  it  is  true  I  dropped  yours^ 
but  then  I  pulled  one  of  the  best  I  could  find 
oft'  a  tree."  "  My  heart,"  says  Drury,  "  was 
ready  to  break  at  this  disappointment ;  where- 
upon I  turned  from  him  and  w^ent  directly  into 
the  woods  to  give  vent  to  my  tears." 

Some  years  rolled  by,  when  Drury  again 
heard  that  two  slave-ships  were  at  Young- 
3 


26  EARLY  VISITERS  TO  MADAGASCAR. 

oule ;  you  shall  hear  what  happened  next,  in 
his  own  words. 

"  I  was  sitting  with  my  master  one  evening. 
Two  men  came  in  with  a  basket  of  pahnetta 
leaves  sewed  up,  and  delivered  it  to  the  chief, 
who  opened  it,  and  finding  a  letter,  asked  the 
men  what  they  meant  by  giving  him  that. 

*  The  captain,'  they  said,  '  gave  it  us  for  your 
white  man,  but  we  thought  proper  to  let  you 
see  it  first.'  '  Pray,'  said  the  chief,  give  it  to 
him.  Here,  Robin,  your  countrymen  have 
sent  you  a  present ;  what  it  is  I  do  not  know, 
but  to  me  it  appears  of  little  value.'  I 
took  the  basket,  and  with  the  letter  there  were 
pens,  ink,  and  paper,  in  order  to  my  returning 
an  answer.     The  superscription  was  this : — 

*  To  Robert  Drury,  in  the  Island  of  Madagas- 
car.' " 

The  letter  was  from  the  captain  of  one  of 
the  ships,  to  say  that  he  had  orders  from 
Robert's  father  to  purchase  his  liberty,  cost 
what  it  might.  The  chief  was  astonished 
that  the  piece  of  paper  should  have  brought 
such  news ;  he  turned  it  about,  and  could  not 
at  all  understand  it ;  he  thought  there  must  be 
witchcraft  in  it.  Drury  was  exchanged  by 
the  chief  for  a  gun,  and  returned  joyfully  to 


EARLY  VISITERS  TO  MADAGASCAR.  27 

his  parents,  after  having  been  away  from 
them  sixteen  years.  We  should  have  thought 
that  his  own  sufferings  would  have  taught  him 
to  pity  poor  slaves,  but  it  is  sad  and  strange  to 
find,  that  he  afterwards  became  a  slave-dealer 
on  the  coast  of  Madagascar. 

Count  Benyowsky,  a  Polish  nobleman,  went 
by  permission  of  the  French  Government  to 
form  a  settlement  in  Madagascar  in  1773. 
His  history  is  a  most  extraordinary  one,  but  is 
too  long  to  relate  here.  He  had  many  enemies 
among  the  French  who  did  all  they  could  to 
ruin  him.  The  natives,  to  whom  he  was 
generous  and  just,  became  very  fond  of  him, 
and  took  it  into  their  heads  that  he  was  the 
son  of  one  of  their  chiefs.  Hearing  that  the 
French  Government  were  going  to  send  to 
fetch  him  back,  they  determined  not  to  let 
him  go.  They  invited  him  to  a  great  "  ka- 
bary,"  or  assembly  of  the  people.  When  he 
ra-rived,  he  found  fifty  thousand  people  of  dif- 
ferent tribes,  who  ranged  themselves  round 
him,  circle  within  circle;  then  they  all  fell 
prostrate  at  his  feet,  and  swore  allegiance  to 
him  as  king  of  Madagascar !  He  consented 
to  be  their  king,  and  was  beginning  to  make 
laws  by  which  to  govern  them,  when  the 


28         RADAMA,  FIKST  KING  OF  MADAGASCAR. 

French  came,  and  attacked  his  settlement, 
and  shot  him  dead.  This  happened  in  1786. 
The  island  of  Mauritius  was  ceded  to  the 
English  by  treaty  in  1814,  and  the  treaty  was 
confirmed  in  1816.  In  the  same  year,  Mr., 
afterwards  Sir  Robert  Farquhar,  was  sent  out 
as  governor  of  Mauritius,  and  about  the  same 
time  a  part  of  the  island  of  Madagascar  was 
ceded  to  the  English  by  the  native  chiefs,  and 
it  remains  theirs,  though  not  occupied,  to  this 
day. 


V. 

RADAMA,  FIRST  KING  OF  MADAGASCAR. 

Madagascar  was  formerly  divided  into  many 
little  kingdoms.  It  contains  twenty-two  pro- 
vinces, and  these  are  again  divided  into 
others.  Thus  the  province  of  Ankova  was 
divided  into  those  of  Imerina,  Imamo,  and 
Vonizongo ;  and  these  into  others  still  smaller, 
governed  by  different  chiefs.  A  chief,  named 
Andriamasinavalona  conquered  all  the  little 
provinces  of  Imerina,  and  became  the  first 
king  of  Imerina :  the  third  in  succession  from 
him,  named  lamboasalama,  conquered  the 
other  provinces  of  Ankova,  and  became  king 


RADAMA,  FIRST  KING  OF  MADAGASCAR.  29^. 

of  that  province,  choosing  for  himself  the 
name  of  Andrianampoin-imerina,  which  means 
*'  the  expectation  of  Imerina."  His  son  and 
successor,  Radama,  pushed  his  conquests  still 
further,  and  assumed  the  title  of  "  king  of 
Madagascar." 

Radama  was  ambitious  and  enterprising, 
and  very  fond  of  praise.  He  had  many  good 
qualities,  and  seemed  a  hundred  years  before 
his  people  in  wisdom  and  intelligence.  When 
quite  a  little  boy,  he  observed  that  his  father 
and  mother  had  quarrelled,  and  that  his 
mother  had  been  sent  away.  One  day  when 
his  father  was  out,  he  managed  to  get  a 
chicken,  and  he  tied  it  to  the  leg  of  a  chair. 
When  the  king  came  back,  and  asked  who 
had  done  this,  he  was  told  that  it  was  Radama. 
He  called  his  little  boy,  and  asked  him  why 
he  had  so  treated  the  little  animal  ?  Radama 
replied  that  it  was  "  a  little  chicken  crying  for 
its  mother."  The  father  listened  to  the  cry 
of  the  little  chicken  Radama,  and  sent  for  his 
mother  back. 

Radama  began  to  reign  in  1808.     When 

the  British  governor  was  sent  to  Mauritius  in 

181G,  one  of  his  chief  objects  was  to  put  a 

stop  to  the  slave-trade  in  Madagascar.  Having 

3* 


30         RADAMA,  FIRST  KING  OF  MADAGASCAR. 

heard  that  Radama  was  clever  and  powerful, 
he  sent  a  Captain  Le  Sage  to  try  to  obtain  the 
king's  help  in  this  matter. 

Now  Radama  was  very  jealous  of  foreigners, 
especially  of  the  French,  and  he  thought  it 
the  safer  plan  to  have  no  road  to  his  capital, 
lest  they  should  feel  inclined  to  make  rather 
more  use  of  it  than  would  be  agreeable: 
he  wished  to  keep  them  on  the  coast  where 
the  fever  prevailed.  Once  when  he  was  told 
that  the  French  were  just  going  to  invade 
Madagascar,  he  answered,  "  Very  well,  let 
them  try ;  I  have  an  officer  in  my  service. 
General  Tazo  (the  name  of  the  Madagascar 
fever.)  I'll  leave  them  in  his  hands  for  a 
while,  and  have  no  doubt  of  the  result." 

There  being  no  road,  Captain  Le  Sage 
found  it  a  dreadful  journey  ;  he  had  more  than 
two  hundred  miles  to  go  to  Tananarive,  the 
name  of  Radama's  capital.  He  had  to  cross 
mountains  and  forests,  rivers  and  marshes; 
the  violent  rains  often  made  the  ground  almost 
too  slippery  for  him  to  stand,  and  some  of  the 
hills  were  so  steep  that  it  was  necessary  to 
slide  down.  It  was  the  most  unhealthy  season 
of  the  year,  and  many  of  his  company  fell 
sick  of  fever,  and  some  died  on  the  road. 


RADAMA,  FIRST  KING  OF  MADAGASCAR.         31 

However,  he  persevered,  and  sent  on  a  letter 
to  Radama  to  say  that  he  v^^as  coming.  As 
Captain  Le  Sage  and  his  party  drew  near  the 
capital,  from  time  to  time  parties  sent  by 
Radama  met  them,  bringing  presents  of  food, 
and  saying  how  glad  he  should  be  to  see  him, 
and  how  sorry  he  was  that  his  palace  having 
just  been  burnt  down,  he  should  not  be  able 
to  receive  them  with  so  much  state  as  he 
could  wish.  This  message  he  sent  again  and 
again.  When  near  the  capital,  eighty  people 
of  the  first  families  in  Radama's  court,  in 
parties  of  twenty,  finely  dressed,  and  bearing 
on  their  heads  rice,  fruit,  and  other  presents, 
came  running  to  meet  the  travellers.  When 
six  miles  from  the  capital,  a  letter  came  from 
the  king,  to  say  how  pleased  he  was  that  the 
Captain  would  sleep  so  near  him  that  night. 
The  next  day,  ten  or  twelve  men  came  with 
a  kind  of  chair  to  carry  Le  Sage  into  the 
capital.  There  was  firing  from  the  town  and 
the  mountains  round ;  and  an  immense  num- 
ber of  soldiers  came  dancing  to  meet  the  visi- 
ters. We  should  think  it  very  odd  to  see 
soldiers  dance,  but  it  is  the  custom  in  Mada- 
gascar. A  multitude  of  people,  perhaps  about 
seventy  thousand,  kept  humming  a  dull  kind 


^2         RADAMA,  FIRST  KING  OF  MADAGASCAR. 

of  hum  as  the  strans^ers  moved  on  towards 
the  palace.  This  humming  was  another  w^ay 
of  bidding  them  welcome. 

Then  Le  Sage  and  his  people  were  intro- 
duced to  the  king.  Radama  shook  hands 
with  them,  and  said  that  Madagascar  be- 
longed to  Captain  Le  Sage,  and  Mauritius 
only  to  himself.  He  afterwards  asked  his 
people  whether  they  were  willing  that  this 
should  be  the  case,  and  they  said,  "  Yes." 
This  exchange  of  countries  was  a  piece  of 
politeness. 

It  was  not  long  before  the  Captain  himself 
fell  sick  of  the  fever,  and  the  king  watched  by 
his  bed-side  with  the  most  anxious  attention  : 
he  was  so  concerned  at  the  illness  of  his 
visiter,  as  to  show  little  pleasure  in  the  pre- 
sents that  were  brought  to  him.  Captain  Le 
Sage  recovered,  and  when  he  left,  the  hospi- 
table king  went  with  him  three  or  four  miles  on 
foot,  and  sent  with  him  two  little  princes,  his 
brothers,  to  be  educated  in  Mauritius.  They 
were  placed  under  the  care  of  j\Ir.  James 
Hastie. 

In  1817,  Mr.  Hastie  took  the  two  little 
princes  back.  At  the  port  of  Tamatave  they 
were  met  by  Radama   himself,  with   thirty 


RADAMA,  FIRST  KING  OF  MADAGASCAR.         33 

thousand  men.  The  king  and  Mr.  Haslie 
went  different  ways  to  the  capital,  and  Ra- 
dama  reached  home  first.  When  Mr.  Hastie 
arrived  at  the  palace  at  Tananarivo,  the  king 
called  him,  and  laughing  loudly,  shook  him 
heartily  by  the  hand.  Mr.  Hastie  began  to  talk 
about  the  bad  road,  or  rather  about  there  being 
no  road  at  all ;  and  said  what  a  good  thing  it 
would  be  for  the  people,  if  Radama  would 
make  good  roads  for  them.  Radama  agreed 
to  it  all,  and  repeated  it  to  his  people :  indeed, 
Mr.  Hastie  had  not  time  to  say  much,  for  the 
king  repeated  every  thing  to  those  around, 
making  his  own  comments  by  the  way.  Mr. 
Hastie  soon  proceeded  to  business  about  the 
slave-trade;  but  before  speaking  about  that, 
perhaps  you  will  like  to  hear  of  the  presents 
which  he  took  to  Radama. 

One  of  the  presents  which  Radama  liked 
best  was  a  clock ;  but  he  was  much  put  out 
to  find  that  something  was  amiss  with  it,  and 
that  it  struck  at  the  half  hour.  While  he  was 
out  Mr.  Hastie  managed  to  set  it  to  rights, 
and  the  king's  joy  was  unbounded :  he  sat  by 
it  on  the  ground  for  a  whole  hour,  and  danced 
when  it  struck.  He  was  also  very  much 
pleased  with  a  map  of  the  world,  and  a  pocket 


84         UADAMA,  FIRST  KING  OF  MADAGASCAR. 

compass ;  but  more  than  all  was  delighted  with 
the  horses,  of  which  there  were  none  in  Mad- 
agascar. 

The  people  were  so  anxious  to  be  kind  to 
the  horses,  that  they  nearly  stuffed  them  to 
death  with  rice ;  and  Mr.  Hastie  had  much 
trouble  to  get  them  well  again.  When  fit  to 
be  used,  the  king  asked  leave  to  mount  one  of 
them ;  he  put  a  little  charm  in  his  mouth,  for 
fear  any  accident  should  happen  to  him. 
After  riding  round  the  court-yard  his  fears 
left  him,  and  he  laughed  and  screamed,  and 
danced,  in  very  unkingly  fashion,  declaring 
that  he  never  had  so  much  pleasure  before. 
He  soon  became  rather  proud  of  his  horseman- 
ship, and  enjoyed  putting  some  of  his  officers 
on  horseback,  that  he  might  laugh  at  their 
awkwardness. 

Mr.  Hastie  was  very  sorry  to  find  that  his 
young  pupils,  the  princes,  soon  forgot  the 
good  instructions  they  had  received  in  Maur- 
itius, and  were  fast  returning  to  the  habits  of 
the  people.  One  morning  the  elder  of  the 
little  princes  did  not  come  to  him,  and  Mr. 
Hastie  went  to  see  after  him.  He  found  him 
sleeping,  in  the  dirtiest  little  room  you  can 
imagine ;  and  when  Mr.  Hastie  talked  to  him 


RADAMA,  FIRST  KING  OF  MADAGASCAR.        35 

about  it,  his  answer  was,  that  "Dirt  was 
warm  and  the  weather  was  cold." 

Mr.  Hastie  did  not  find  it  very  difficult  to 
persuade  the  king,  that  it  was  a  bad  thing  for 
his  subjects  to  be  sent  out  of  the  country  as 
slaves ;  but  it  was  hard  work  for  the  king  to 
persuade  his  officers,  as  many  of  them  gained 
money  by  the  slave-trade.  At  length,  how- 
ever, he  promised  to  put  a  stop  to  it,  on  con- 
dition that  the  English  Government  should 
every  year  send  him  a  certain  supply  of  arms 
and  ammunition,  and  clothing  for  his  soldiers. 
Mr.  Hastie  left,  promising  to  return  again. 

About  this  time  Sir  Robert  Farquhar  was 
obliged  to  go  to  England,  for  his  health ;  and 
as  there  had  not  been  time  for  the  British 
Government  to  confirm  the  treaty  with  Rad- 
ama.  General  Hall,  who  was  left  in  Sir  Ro- 
bert's place,  broke  the  new  engagements ;  sent 
back  six  youths,  whom  Radama  had  sent  to 
Mauritius  for  education,  and,  for  a  while,  the 
slave-traders  carried  on  their  wicked  work 
with  more  vigour  than  ever. 


36  CHRISTIANITY    INTRODUCED. 

VI. 

CHRISTIANITY   INTRODUCED. 

Christians  in  England  had  for  some  years 
been  wishing  to  send  missionaries  to  Mada- 
gascar, but  it  was  not  till  the  year  1818,  that 
two  missionaries  named  Jones  and  Bevan 
were  sent  out.  When  they  reached  Mauritius 
and  found  that  the  treaty  about  the  slave-trade 
had  been  broken,  and  that  Radama  had  so 
much  reason  to  be  angry,  they  settled  at  Ta- 
matave,  and  began  a  school  there.  In  a  little 
while  they  and  their  families  were  taken  ill  of 
the  fever ;  Mrs.  Jones  and  her  little  daughter 
died ;  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Bevan  and  their  little  girl 
died  also,  and  Mr.  Jones  returned  alone  to  the 
Mauritius  for  the  recovery  of  his  health. 

In  1820,  Sir  Robert  returned  with  full 
powers  from  England  to  treat  with  Radama ; 
he  sent  Mr.  Hastie  over  again,  and  Mr.  Jones 
went  with  him. 

Mr.  Hastie  was  half  afraid  that  Radama 
would  not  wish  to  see  him  any  more,  having 
been  so  ill  used.  On  his  way,  however,  he 
received  this  letter : — "  Come  along,  saith  Ra- 
dama.   I  shall  receive  you.    Do  not  be  afraid. 


CHRISTIANITY    INTRODUCED.  3f 

I  am  glad  that  you  are  coming,  my  friend, 
Mr.  Hastie,  to  see  me  again.  Come  along — 
fear  not.  I  am  not  so  ready  to  cut  off  heads 
as  people  say  I  am." 

Letters,  and  messengers,  and  the  firing  of 
cannon,  bade  Mr.  Hastie  welcome  as  before. 
The  king  came  out  of  his  old  court-yard  to 
meet  him,  and  led  him  into  his  palace.  He 
hugged  Mr.  Hastie  in  his  arms,  and  laughed 
so  much  with  delight  that  he  could  not  keep 
his  seat,  often  calling  out  his  visiter's  name  in 
the  most  friendly  tone,  and  taking  hold  of  him 
as  if  to  be  sure  that  he  was  really  there. 

When  the  subject  of  the  treaty  came  up, 
Radama  said  that  he  had  faithfully  kept  his 
part  for  twelve  months,  and  had  put  some  of 
his  people  to  death  for  breaking  the  law  and 
selling  slaves ;  and  that  he  could  not  believe 
that  the  English  had  broken  their  w^ord  till 
the  six  boys  were  sent  back  to  him.  He  also 
said,  that  it  had  become  a  kind  of  proverb 
among  his  people,  "  False  as  the  English." 
When  at  length  satisfied  by  Mr.  Hastie,  Ra- 
dama laboured  day  after  day,  and  even  night 
after  night,  again  to  bring  his  chiefs  to  con- 
sent to  the  treaty.  They  also  gave  way,  and 
the  treaty  was  once  more  signed;  Radama 
4 


88  CHRISTIANITY   INTRODUCED. 

making  it  a  condition  that  besides  arms  and 

ammunition,  the  English  should  send  school- 
masters and  artisans  to  teach  his  people,  and 
that  some  Malagasy  youths  should  be  sent  to 
England  to  be  taught.  Radama  generously 
gave  up  the  twelve  months'  balance  due  to 
him,  and  said  that  it  should  go  towards  the 
expenses  of  teaching  his  people. 

How  glad  Mr.  Hastie  was  when  the  firing 
of  cannon  announced  that  the  treaty  was 
sealed !  He  wrote  in  his  jonrual,  "  the  first 
peal  of  Radama's  cannon  gave  me  more  joy 
than  thousands  of  gold  would  have  done." 
The  poor  people  rejoiced,  because  now  their 
children  were  safe;  and  when  letters  from 
Sir  Robert  finally  sanctioned  the  treaty,  the 
king  himself  danced  with  delight.  Mr.  Jones, 
with  the  king's  approbation,  immediately  be- 
gan a  school  for  little  boys,  and  soon  after 
Mr.  Griffiths,  another  missionary,  came  to 
assist  him. 

The  king's  brother-in-law.  Prince  Rataflfe, 
went  with  Mr.  Hastie  to  Mauritius,  and  thence 
to  England.  The  prince  was  present  at  the 
London  Missionary  Meeting  in  May  1821, 
and  more  missionaries  and  artisans  were  sent 
back  with  him. 


CHRISTIANITY    INTRODUCED.  39 

The  king  received  the  teachers  with  much 
pleasure,  and  from  first  to  last  was  exceed- 
ingly kind  to  them.  One  or  two  anecdotes 
will  give  you  an  idea  of  how  much  the  people 
had  to  learn. 

Radama's  favourite  horse  had  lost  a  shoe : 
and  no  one  knew  how  to  shoe  it,  or  even  how 
to  make  square  nails.  Mr.  Jones  made  a 
model  of  a  horse-shoe,  and  of  a  square  nail, 
and  then  the  native  smiths  imitated  it.  Then 
the  horse  was  brought  out,  and  the  king,  his 
officers,  and  many  other  persons  came  out 
also  to  see  Mr.  Jones  shoe  the  horse.  While 
he  was  driving  the  nails  into  its  hoof,  the  king 
kept  calling  out,  "  Take  care !  take  care ! 
don't  hurt  the  horse !  don't  hurt  the  horse !" 
It  was  soon  done,  and  the  horse  was  led  out 
unhurt,  and  Mr.  Jones  was  looked  up  to  as  a 
very  clever  man. 

It  had  never  been  Mr.  Jones's  business  to 
shoe  horses,  but  he  had  watched  the  black- 
smiths doing  it,  and  had  several  times  nailed 
on  an  old  shoe  in  Wales.  It  is  well  to  know 
how  to  do  every  thing  that  we  can.  Mr. 
Jones  did  not  know  how  useful  this  accom- 
plishment would  be  to  him  in  Madagascar. 

The  Malagasy  knew  little  of  medicine,  and 


40  CHRISTIANITY    INTRODUCED. 

less  of  surgery.  One  day  Radama  fell  from 
his  horse,  and  the  people,  in  great  alarm,  ran 
to  fetch  Mr.  Jones.  The  king  had  been  hurt 
by  the  fall,  and  to  nnake  up  for  the  loss  of 
blood,  the  people  were  cutting  off  the  heads 
of  a  number  of  live  fowls,  and  were  busy 
pouring  the  blood  from  the  bodies  of  the  fowls 
into  the  king's  mouth.  They  were  quite 
shocked  when  Mr.  Jones  recommended  them 
not  to  add  any  more  blood  from  the  fowls, 
but  to  take  some  from  the  king  instead : — they 
were  proposing  to  consult  the  sikidy,  when 
the  king,  who  could  trust  the  missionaries,  in 
a  faint  voice  said,  "  Bleed  me — let  the  sikidy 
not  be  consulted;  bleed  me  immediately." 
He  was  bled,  and  recovered ;  and  then  the 
people  went  to  Mr.  Jones,  and  begged  that  he 
would  bleed  them  also,  that  they  might  be 
prepared  for  any  accident ! 

As  soon  as  the  other  missionaries  and  arti- 
sans arrived,  Tananarivo  became  a  very  busy 
place  compared  with  what  it  had  been.  Some 
of  the  people  were  taught  to  work  in  iron ; 
some  to  tan  and  curry  leather ;  some  to  spin 
and  weave;  while  some  were  employed  in 
building  a  school-house,  and  a  palace  for  the 
king ;  some  in  cleaning  up  the  town,  some  in 


CHRISTIANITY  INTRODUCED.  41 

making  gardens,  and  some  in  making  roads. 
The  missionaries'  wives  taught  the  women  to 
sew,  and  to  manage  their  houses.  The  prin- 
cipal missionaries  were  engaged  in  preaching, 
in  translating  the  Scriptures  and  little  books, 
and  in  teaching  children  in  schools.  The 
people  were  at  first  rather  afraid  of  sending 
their  children  to  school.  They  thought  that 
the  missionaries  wanted  to  get  their  children, 
and  then  to  send  them  out  of  the  country  for 
European  eating;  some  of  them  hid  their 
children  in  the  rice-pits,  and  the  poor  little 
things  were  suffocated  for  want  of  air.  Ra- 
dama  sent  all  the  little  chiefs  and  princesses 
to  school  as  an  example.  He  used  to  attend 
the  examinations,  and  was  particularly  pleased 
to  hear  the  children  sing.  The  first  piece  of 
needle-work  that  was  done,  by  the  little  girls, 
was  presented  by  Mrs.  Griffiths  to  the  king. 

The  little  Malagasy  boys  and  girls  were 
found  to  be  quite  as  quick  in  learning  as  English 
children,  and  much  more  attentive;  they 
never  yawned  or  looked  about  as  if  quite 
tired  of  their  lessons,  and  very  early  in  the 
nnorning  the  missionaries  were  often  disturbed 
by  the  children  gathering  around  their  doors, 
and  repeating  the  multiplication  table,  or  other 
4* 


42  CHRISTIANITY    INTRODUCED. 

lessons  for  the  day.  One  day  the  missionary, 
Mr.  Jeffreys,  was  catechizing  the  children, 
and  he  asked  them  which  of  the  ten  command- 
ments was  most  difficult  to  keep.  A  boy 
about  twelve  years  old,  said,  "  The  last  is  the 
hardest."  "Why  so,  my  boy?"  said  Mr. 
Jeffreys.  "Because,"  replied  the  boy,  "for 
one  who  is  poor  to  see  another  with  a  great 
deal  of  money,  a  great  deal  of  clothes,  and 
much  cattle  and  rice,  without  wishing  for 
some  of  them,  is  very  hard  indeed :  I  think 
no  person  can  keep  this  commandment." 

The  following  anecdote  was  related  by  the 
late  Mr.  Jones,  when  on  a  visit  to  England. 
It  appeared  that  King  Radama  was  very  kind 
to  the  missionaries.  On  one  occasion,  when 
the  teachers  were  in  the  school  teaching  the 
children,  a  little  boy  told  his  neighbour  that 
his  father's  god  was  nothing  but  a  block  of 
wood!  The  teacher,  hearing  of  this,  was 
astonished,  as  the  boy  was  a  priest's  son,  and 
so  by  that  means  his  father's  craft  might  be 
in  danger.  Still  the  boy,  fearless  of  conse- 
quences, cried  out,  "  I  say,  my  father's  god  is 
just  a  block  of  wood !"  By  and  bye  the  na- 
tives came  to  hear  of  this  insult  to  their  god 
Ramaasin,  and  a  fearful  hail  storm  coming 


CHRISTIANITY    INTRODUCED.  43 

on  at  the  time,  the  people  thought  the  damage 
that  was  done  by  it  was  a  judgment  from  their 
god  for  the  insult  that  had  been  done  him  by 
that  little  boy ;  and  they  set  off,  with  one  con- 
sent, to  the  school,  there  to  call  upon  the  boy 
for  the  truth  of  what  he  had  said. 

The  boy  was  then  called  for,  and  his  teach- 
er brought  him  before  them.  Now  was  the 
time  for  the  trial  of  his  principles ;  and,  oh ! 
his  conduct  may  put  many  older  Christians  to 
the  blush.  For,  rising  up  before  all  the  school, 
and  his  infuriated  countrymen  ready,  if  they 
but  dared,  to  tear  him  in  pieces,  he  nobly 
said,  "  My  teacher  has  taught  me  that  I  must 
not  tell  a  lie,  and  I  again  say  that  my  father's 
god  is  nothing  else  than  a  block  of  wood." 
The  people,  more  enraged  than  ever,  but 
afraid  of  going  too  far  without  the  sanction 
of  the  king,  set  off  in  a  body  to  the  capital, 
to  complain  to  the  king  against  this  young 
David ;  but  they  were  much  disappointed  to 
hear  him  exclaim,  "  What  business  have  you 
to  meddle  with  the  teachers  and  their  school? 
Go  back  to  your  homes,  your  spades  and 
your  hoes,  and  leave  the  teachers  to  them- 
selves to  mind  their  own  business."  Such 
was  the  noble  answer  of  the  King  of  Mada- 


44  CHRISTIANITY    INTRODUCED. 

gascar !  The  children,  hearing  that  the  king 
would  not  protect  the  idols  that  took  the  place 
of  God,  resolved  to  show  their  deluded  coun- 
trymen that  they  could  not  protect  themselves, 
and  so  ran  off  to  the  field  where  the  god 
Ramaasin  was  set  up  to  be  worshipped,  and 
began  to  pelt  him  with  stones,  till  he,  like 
Baal  of  old,  fell  down  a  poor  helpless  block 
of  wood  ! — the  little  boys  exclaiming,  "  Now, 
Ramaasin,  if  you  be  a  god  you  can  help  your- 
self!" 

My  dear  reader,  let  us  learn  from  this  a 
noble  lesson  to  do  our  duty,  and  leave  the 
consequences  to  Providence.  This  little  Ma- 
dagascar boy  may  yet  rise  up  as  a  witness 
against  those  who  would  sell  the  truth  for  a 
piece  of  bread.  Think  then,  if  ever  tempted 
to  tell  a  lie  to  save  yourself  from  suffering  or 
from  trouble,  oh,  think  you  see  the  all-seeing 
eye  of  Him  who  never  slumbers  nor  sleeps 
gazing  on  you,  and  think  of  the  little  Mada- 
gascar boy  standing  up  for  the  truth  before 
his  savage  countrymen,  saying,  "  My  teacher 
has  taught  me  that  I  must  not  tell  a  lie." 

The  children  became  very  fond  of  their 
teachers.  The  first  time  that  Mr.  Jeffreys 
went  from  home,  three  of  the  younger  boys 


CHRISTIANITY    INTRODUCED.  45 

went  to  Mrs.  Jeffreys,  and  said  to  her,  "  We 
will  sleep  in  your  house  till  Mr.  Jeffreys  comes 
back ;  no  rogue  shall  come  to  you,  and  we 
will  do  all  we  can  to  keep  you  from  feeling 
sorrowful."  They  did  as  they  said  they 
would,  and  came  every  evening  and  slept  on 
the  mat  in  the  sitting-room. 

Supposing  that  the  children  of  Madagascar 
would  like  holidays  as  well  as  English  child- 
ren do,  the  missionaries  dismissed  them  for  a 
few  days.  This  made  a  great  commotion. 
A  kabary  of  the  judges  and  people  was  held, 
and  they  began  to  abuse  the  missionaries, 
caUing  them  "owls,"  "pigs,"  "cats,"  and 
"  dogs,"  for  sending  away  their  children. 
The  king  wrote  to  the  missionaries,  asking 
whether  the  children  had  behaved  ill,  and  sayr 
ing  that  if  so,  he  would  punish  them,  though 
they  were  in  his  own  family.  The  missionaries 
explained :  the  king  said,  "  It  is  all  well  and 
good,"  and  the  matter  ended. 

By  the  advice  of  Mr.  Hastie  and  the  mis^ 
sionaries,  the  king  made  many  good  laws  for 
his  people :  he  forbade  thieving  and  idleness : 
any  person  found  idle  for  two  days  or  more 
was  to  be  made  to  work  the  same  number  of 
days  on  the  public  roads :  he  encouraged  the 


46  CHRISTIANITY    INTRODUCED. 

people  to  cultivate  their  land,  giving  them 
seeds  and  tools:  he  improved  his  army,  and 
gained  many  victories ;  but  as  I  think  it  w^ill 
not  answ^er  any  good  end  to  tell  you  how 
many  people  were  cut  to  pieces,  or  give  you 
any  pleasure  to  hear  how  the  weeping  widows 
and  children  used  to  go  and  search  for  the 
dead  bodies  of  their  husbands  and  fathers  on 
the  field  of  battle,  I  shall  leave  that  part  of 
the  story. 

Radama  would  no  longer  allow  the  children 
who  were  born  on  "  unlucky  days"  to  be  put 
to  death :  he  discouraged  the  trial  by  ordeal, 
and  whenever  he  could  slily  make  the  idols 
and  the  sikidy  appear  ridiculous  without 
openly  opposing  them,  he  did  so.  Though 
more  and  more  convinced  of  the  folly  of  idol- 
atry, he  did  not  live  to  become  a  Christian. 
Would  that  he  had !  Then,  perhaps,  as  far 
as  we  can  see,  his  life  might  have  been  spared 
to  Madagascar,  and  Madagascar  might  have 
been  spared  her  present  sufferings.  He  fell 
into  habits  of  intemperance,  and  died  July 
27th,  1828,  at  the  age  of  thirty-six. 


THE  USURPATION  OF  RANAVALONA.  47 


VII. 


THE  USURPATION  OF  RANAVALONA. 

On  the  death  of  Radama,  Rakotobe,  the  son 
of  Rataffe  and  Radama's  eldest  sister,  was  to 
have  succeeded  to  the  throne.  Radama,  how- 
ever, had  left  twelve  wives,  one  of  whom  was 
named  Ranavalona.  As  soon  as  Radama 
was  dead,  Ranavalona  sent  for  two  officers 
of  great  power  in  the  army,  and  promised  to 
reward  them  well,  and  to  pardon  whatever 
crime  they  might  commit,  if  they  would  help 
her  to  be  queen :  this  they  promised  to  do. 
Radama's  death  was  kept  a  secret,  and  on 
the  29th  of  July,  two  days  after  his  death,  a 
great  assembly  of  the  people  was  summoned 
to  swear  allesriance  to  whomsoever  Radama 
should  appoint  as  his  successor.  On  the  1st 
of  August,  the  king's  death  was  made  known, 
and  to  the  great  surprise  of  all  the  people, 
Ranavalona  was  proclaimed  queen. 

Ranavalona  knew  well  that  she  had  no 
right  to  the  throne,  and  that  many  would  dis- 
pute her  title;  so  she  began  her  reign  by 
putting  all  who  were  likely  to  do  so  out  of  the 
way. 


48  THE  USURPATION  OF  RANAVALONA. 

The  young  prince  Rakotobe  was  the  firs* 
scholar  in  the  mission  school  in  1820,  and  he 
had  for  some  time  given  the  missionaries 
reason  to  hope  that  he  had  become  a  true 
believer  in  Jesus.  Ranavalona  sent  men  to 
seize  him,  and  to  put  him  to  death :  his  grave 
was  dug  before  his  eyes ;  he  asked  for  time 
to  pray,  and  was  then  speared  by  the  soldiers, 
and  buried  on  the  spot. 

Rataffe,  the  father  of  Rakotobe,  was  next 
taken,  and  also  speared  to  death.  This  was 
the  mild  and  amiable  prince  who  had  visited 
England  in  the  year  1821. 

The  mother  of  Rakotobe  was  then  starved 
to  death  by  order  of  the  queen.  This  was  the 
eldest  sister  of  Radama. 

The  next  who  was  put  to  death  was  the 
mother  of  Rakotobe's  mother.  She  was  sent 
to  a  part  of  the  country  where  fever  prevailed : 
a  little  food  was  given  her  just  to  make  her 
sufferings  last  longer,  and  every  now  and  then 
the  soldiers  and  guards  terrified  her  by  pre- 
tending that  the  executioners  were  cominj^ 
and  asking  her  whether  she  would  like  to  be 
killed  in  the  house  or  out  of  it.  Thus  by  cruel 
alarms,  fever,  neglect,  and  want  of  food,  she 


THE  USURPATION  OF  RANAVALONA.  49 

was  destroyed.      Her  brother,  Andrianilana 
was  put  to  death  at  the  same  time. 

Ratafikia,  the  brother  of  Radama,  was 
killed  by  starvation.  He  hved  eight  days. 
For  four  or  five  days  his  cries  were  most 
distressing.  Some  hours  after  he  had  ceased 
to  groan,  the  captain  of  the  guard  opened  a 
window  to  see  if  he  was  dead.  Poor  Ratifi- 
kia  could  no  longer  speak,  but  he  moved  his 
hand  earnestly  toward  his  lips  to  beg  for  food : 
his  guard  was  touched  with  pity,  but  durst 
not  give  him  any,  and  he  died. 

Radama  had  two  cousins,  and  the  queen 
sent  to  seize  them.  The  younger  one,  Rama- 
nanolona,  was  stabbed  to  death,  but  the  elder 
one,  Ramanetaka,  was  too  clever  for  the 
queen.  She  sent  a  few  soldiers  to  tell  him 
that  she  wanted  him  at  the  capital.  She  had 
prepared  two  hundred  soldiers  to  murder  him 
on  the  way.  He  told  the  officers,  who  came 
to  summon  him,  that  he  was  ready  to  go, 
only  he  wished  to  go  part  of  the  way  by 
water,  as  he  could  then  get  to  the  capital 
much  sooner  than  if  he  went  the  whole  way 
by  land.  All  the  night  he  was  packing  up, 
and  the  next  morning,  he,  with  his  family  and 
property,  embarked  on  board  a  small  Arab 
5 


50  THE  USURPATION  OF  RANAVALONA. 

sloop.  The  officers  were  delighted  to  think 
that  they  had  got  hold  of  him  and  of  all  his 
money  so  easily.  He  persuaded  them  to  be 
placed  in  a  little  canoe,  and  towed  along  by 
the  ship,  that  they  might  not  be  so  sea-sick  as 
in  the  large  sloop.  When  fairly  out,  the  rope 
which  held  the  canoe  was  cut.  The  Arabs 
made  sail.  Ramanetaka  cried,  "  Life  is  sweet 
I  am  off."  The  vessel  was  soon  out  of  sight, 
and  the  disappointed  officers  with  difficulty 
made  their  way  to  the  land  and  to  the  capital. 
How  foolish  they  must  have  looked  when  they 
told  their  story  to  the  queen !  Ramanetaka 
continued  to  live  in  safety  at  Mohilla,  one  of 
the  Comoro  islands,  waiting  an  opportunity 
to  claim  the  crown  of  Madagascar,  but  died 
in  1841. 

There  was  a  young  officer  of  the  name  of 
Andriamihaja,  who  had  been  the  principal 
person  in  helping  Ranavalona  to  the  throne, 
and  whom  she  liked  very  much.  Some  of 
the  other  officers  were  jealous  of  him,  and 
they  persuaded  the  queen  that  Andriamihaja 
himself  wished  to  be  king,  and  that  she  would 
not  be  safe  as  long  as  he  lived.  They  made 
Ranavalona  drunk,  and  in  that  state  persuad- 
ed her  to  pronounce  his  sentence  of  death. 


THE  USURPATION  OF  RANAVALONA.  51 

Andriamihaja  had  been  a  great  friend  to 
education,  and  wished  all  the  people  to  be 
taught.  He  would  have  attended  the  Chris- 
tian service  if  he  had  not  been  afraid  of  dis- 
pleasing the  queen.  He  often  read  the  New 
Testament,  and  was  reading  it  alone  when 
the  messengers  came  from  the  queen.  A  pious 
officer  happened  to  come  in,  of  whom  he 
asked  many  questions,  as  indeed  he  had  often 
done  before,  about  the  way  of  salvation. 
While  they  were  thus  talking,  four  soldiers 
came  in  and  plunged  a  knife  into  his  throat 
The  queen  had  promised  that  whatever  crime 
he  committed,  he  should  never  be  put  to  death. 
After  he  was  executed,  her  conscience  so 
troubled  her  that  she  could  not  rest.  To 
make  her  easy,  the  body  was  dug  up  and 
laid  in  a  shallow  grave :  the  head  was  cut 
off  and  placed  at  the  feet,  and  the  head  of  a 
black  dog  put  in  its  place.  Still  the  queen 
could  not  rest,  and  in  the  night  she  was 
troubled  with  fearful  dreams.  The  bones 
were  again  taken  up  and  burnt,  and  the  ashes 
scattered  to  the  winds.  One  of  the  young 
man's  wives,  his  sister,  and  one  of  his  servants 
were  strangled,  and  the  queen  is  said  to  have 
been  satisfied. 


62  THE  USURPATION  OF  RANAVALONA. 

Do  you  not  feel  very  sorry  that  this  young 
man  did  not  live  a  little  longer  to  understand 
more  about  the  gospel  of  Jesus  1 

The  two  cruel  brothers  who  had  persuaded 
the  queen  to  have  Andriamihaja  murdered, 
took  his  place  at  the  head  of  the  queen's  gov- 
ernment, and  the  poor  people  of  Madagascar 
think  that  all  that  they  have  since  suflered  is 
to  be  placed  to  the  account  of  these  men. 
The  younger  of  them  died  last  year. 

But  for  the  gospel,  England  might  now 
have  been  in  the  same  state  as  Madagascar, 
As  Mr.  Freeman  observes  in  his  book,  we  have 
only  to  read  English  history  to  find  many 
stories  just  as  cruel  and  dreadful  as  these. 
How  thankful  we  should  be,  not  only  for  be- 
ing born  in  this  happy  country,  but  also  in 
this  happy  age ! 

We  must  return  to  our  sad  story,  however, 
for  it  is  not  nearly  at  an  end.  Ranavalona 
having  secured  the  kingdom  to  herself  by  so 
many  single  murders,  has  endeavoured  to  ex- 
tend its  boundaries  by  wholesale  massacres. 
The  finest  children  of  her  country  are  taken 
to  serve  in  the  army,  which  amounts  to  be- 
tween twenty  and  thirty  thousand  men.  They 
have  no  regular  pay,  but  get  a  small  share  of 


THE  USURPATION  OF  RANAVALONA.  53 

the  plunder  they  take  in  war.  About  every 
six  months  large  parties  of  these  soldiers  go 
out  into  the  neighbouring  provinces,  surprise 
the  peaceful  and  unoffending  villagers,  kill  the 
men,  and  take  the  women  and  children  as 
slaves.  The  queen  hopes  by  this  means  to 
get  the  whole  of  Madagascar  under  her 
power. 

In  the  year  1831,  two  parties  of  soldiers 
were  sent  out,  one  to  the  south,  and  the  other 
to  the  west.  Rainiharo,  the  officer  who  head- 
ed the  troops  that  went  to  the  south,  invited 
all  the  villagers  of  one  place  to  a  friendly 
feast,  and  as  soon  as  they  were  seated  he 
gave  a  signal  to  his  soldiers  to  seize  their 
guests,  to  tie  their  hands,  lead  them  out,  and 
then  spear  them  to  death.  The  women  and 
children  were  taken  as  plunder. 

The  soldiers  who  went  to  the  west,  seized 
all  the  chief  men  of  another  district,  threw 
them  into  a  deep  ditch,  and  after  letting  them 
lie  without  food  for  two  days,  took  them  out, 
and  crucified  them  at  short  distances  all  round 
the  village.  Many  of  their  wives,  sisters,  and 
daughters,  refused  to  go  into  slavery.  "  This," 
said  they,  "  is  the  land  of  our  husbands,  our 
fathers,  and  our  brothers,  whom  you  have 
6* 


54  THE  USURPATION  OF  RANAVALONA. 

murdered  in  our  sight,  and  shall  we  now  ac- 
company you  far  away  to  Imerina,  to  live  and 
die  there  ?"  The  spears  of  the  soldiers  sooa 
silenced  them  in  death. 

The  next  year,  Rainiharo  and  Ramboasal- 
ama  went  with  a  body  of  troops  to  another 
district.  They  promised  the  poor  people  of 
the  place  that  if  they  would  but  give  up  their 
arms,  no  harm  should  be  done  to  them.  They 
kept  on  repeating  this  promise  for  three  days. 
Some  of  the  people  would  not  believe  them, 
and  they  made  their  escape  to  the  forests  in 
the  night-time.  About  twenty  thousand  re- 
mained, and  consented  to  give  up  their  arms. 
They  had  no  sooner  done  this,  than  the  sol- 
diers began  to  tie  the  hands  of  all  the  men 
with  cords,  and  then  to  put  them  to  death. 
The  soldiers  were  busy  from  early  in  the 
morning  till  late  in  the  evening  about  this 
horrid  work.  Seven  thousand  were  killed, 
and  thirteen  thousand  women  and  children 
taken  captive.  Many  that  were  young  and 
sickly  could  not  keep  up  with  the  army,  and 
were  driven  on  at  the  point  of  the  spear.  You 
would  have  seen  many  a  widowed  broken- 
hearted mother  trying  to  carry  two,  or  even 
three  children,  till  fatigue,  or  famine,  or  thq 


THE  USURPATION  OF  RANAVALONA  55 

spear,  put  an  end  to  her  sufferings  and  theirs. 
Tiiose  mothers  and  children  who  hved  to 
reach  their  journey's  end,  were  often  sold  to 
different  masters,  and  saw  one  another  no 
more.  Two  little  boys,  between  eiglit  and 
nine  years  of  age,  slipped  away  from  the 
army,  and  hid  themselves  among  the  bulrushes 
on  the  bank  of  the  river  for  several  hours, 
with  their  heads  just  above  water ; — they  were 
found,  severely  beaten,  and  sold  into  hopeless 
slavery.  These  cruelties  are  still  continued, 
and  it  is  supposed  that  more  than  one  hundred 
thousand  of  the  people  of  Madagascar  have 
been  killed  since  Ranavalona  began  to  reign. 
Since  Radama's  death,  the  little  children 
have  been  killed  as  they  used  to  be  in  former 
days.  The  trial  by  ordeal  has  been  more  in 
use  than  ever,  and  the  number  of  robbers  has 
frightfully  increased.  So  many  people  being 
taken  to  serve  in  the  army,  or  put  to  death, 
there  are  not  enough  to  cultivate  the  land,  and 
the  price  of  rice  is  three  or  four  times  as  great 
as  it  was  in  the  time  of  Radama.  The  peo- 
ple are  often  in  great  distress  for  food ;  many 
can  only  get  one  meal  of  rice  in  a  day,  and 
some  cannot  get  that,  and  are  obliged  to  live 
upon  manioc  or  other  roots. 


56  CHRISTIANITY    SUPPRESSED. 

Who  would  not  pity  and  pray  for  suffering 
Madagascar  1 


VIII. 

CHRISTIANITY  SUPPRESSED. 

For  some  time  after  Radama's  death,  the 
queen  showed  kindness  to  the  Missionaries, and 
allowed  the  native  Christians  to  be  baptized. 
The  French  had  again  been  sending  ships 
and  soldiers  to  try  to  get  possession  of  Mada- 
gascar, and  perhaps  her  fear  of  the  French 
made  the  queen  wish  to  keep  friends  with  the 
English.  It  was  not  till  the  year  1835  that 
tlie  persecution  of  the  Christians  began. 

For  fifteen  years  the  Missionaries  had 
laboured  with  little  interruption.  In  their  schools 
they  had  about  five  thousand  scholars.  The 
Bible  and  many  tracts  had  been  translated. 
Bible  classes  were  formed,  and  about  two 
hundred  natives  had  professed  their  faith  in 
Jesus,  had  been  baptized,  and  were  accus- 
tomed to  partake  together  of  the  Lord's  Sup- 
per. The  native  Christians  carried  the  Gos- 
pel into  all  the  villages  around,  and  it  seemed 
to  be  taking  great  hold  on  the  minds  of  the 


CHRISTIANITY    SUPPRESSED.  57 

people.  Very  many  also  had  for  years  been 
learning  those  useful  arts  which  the  Mission- 
aries and  artisans  taught,  and  so  great  a 
change  was  to  be  seen  in  the  manners  and 
habits  of  the  people,  that  the  government  be- 
came alarmed,  and  "  doubted  whereunto  this 
would  grow." 

Rainiharo,  one  of  the  queen's  favourites, 
was  keeper  of  one  of  the  chief  idols,  and  he 
and  many  other  idol-keepers  found  that  their 
craft  was  in  danger,  and  did  all  they  could  to 
set  the  queen  against  the  Christians.  The 
queen  herself  was  much  attached  to  idol  wor- 
ship. Being  very  ignorant  and  hardly  able 
to  read  and  wTite,  she  felt  no  pleasure  in  see- 
ing the  children  taught.  She  was  jealous  of 
foreigners,  and  did  not  like  English  worship 
to  prevail,  or  for  her  subjects  to  do  any  thing 
which  she  had  not  herself  commanded.  But 
the  greatest  cause  of  alarm  and  displeasure 
seems  to  have  been  that  which  was  urged 
against  the  apostles,  that  the  Christians  were 
"  changing  the  customs"  of  the  country. 

A  young  Christian,  named  Andriantsoa, 
having  been  heard  to  speak  disrespectfully  of 
one  of  the  idols,  was  put  to  the  ordeal,  and 
found  innocent.    A  few  days  after,  he  came 


58  CHRISTIANITY    SUPPRESSED. 

up  to  town  in  a  public  procession,  and  many 
of  the  Christians,  dressed  in  their  white  lamhas, 
joined  the  procession  to  show  their  joy  at  his 
deUverance.  The  queen  and  some  of  her  offi- 
cers happened  to  see  the  procession.  She 
asked,  "  What  crowd  is  that  wearing  white 
lamhas  V  "  The  procession  of  Andriantsoa," 
said  they,  "  and  those  who  are  wearing  white 
dresses  are  native  Christians.  You  would  be 
surprised  at  the  love  of  those  people  one  for 
another.  When  any  one  of  them  happens  to 
be  in  distress  they  all  feel  distress,  and  when 
any  one  is  happy  they  are  all  happy ;  when 
any  are  poor  they  form  a  society  to  relieve 
them."  "  I  am  indeed  surprised,"  said  the 
queen,  "to  see  such  things  in  my  country. 
Was  it  not  I  that  ordered  him  to  take  the  or- 
deal ]  and  why  do  they  now  make  such  an 
exhibition,  as  if  they  had  overcome  an  enemy? 
All  this  is  meant  for  me,  I  suppose !" 

The  officer  who  had  accused  Andriantsoa 
also  saw  the  procession.  He  was  very  much 
mortified,  and,  like  Haman,  who  wished  to 
destroy  all  the  Jews  for  the  sake  of  killing 
Mordecai,  he  resolved  to  accuse  the  whole 
body  of  the  Christians.  He  went  to  the  judges, 
and  managed  to  make  his  tears  come,  and  to 


CHRISTIANITY    SUPPRESSED.  69 

cry  a  great  deal,  saying  that  he  was  in  great 
trouble,  because  he  was  sure  that  the  Chris- 
tians wanted  to  take  the  kingdom  from  the 
queen,  and  to  give  it  to  the  English. 

When  the  queen  heard  this  tale  about  the 
Christians,  she  was  very  angry,  and  she  sum- 
moned a  great  kahary  of  all  the  people.  Only 
one  person  was  to  stay  at  home  in  each  house 
throu2:hout  all  Imerina.  Violent  as  was  the 
queen's  passion,  there  was  one  of  her  chief 
officers  who,  though  he  was  not  a  Christian, 
was  courageous  enough  to  speak  in  their  de- 
fence. He  told  the  queen  that  he  had  for 
years  had  many  of  the  Christians  under  him, 
and  knew  them  well,  and  that  there  were  none 
so  upright,  so  diligent,  so  obedient,  so  trust- 
worthy, or  so  intelligent  as  they.  He  finished 
thus,  "  Should  you  put  to  death  any  of  those 
intelligent  young  people,  I  fear,  madam,  you 
will  be  the  loser,  and  be  sorry  for  it.  When 
once  they  are  killed  you  cannot  purchase  back 
their  lives  with  money.  These  are  my  thoughts, 
madam,  and  I  cannot  but  tell  them,  whatever 
may  be  the  consequence."  Another  officer 
agreed  to  this,  and  spoke  of  the  many  useful 
things  which  the  Europeans  had  taught  them. 


60 


CHRISTIANITY    SUPPRESSED. 


The  queen  took  this  advice  in  good  part,  and 
for  that  time  seemed  disposed  to  attend  to  it. 

Two  days  after,  a  letter  was  sent  to  the 
Missionaries  forbidding  them  to  teach  Chris- 
tianity. The  letter  was  brought  to  the  chapel 
by  a  great  enemy  of  the  Christians,  and  read 
before  all  the  people.  In  this  letter  the  queen 
declared  that  she  would  not  allow  the  customs 
of  the  country  to  be  changed,  that  the  sabbath 
was  not  to  be  kept,  nor  baptism,  nor  any 
religious  worship  allowed.  The  Christians 
were  all  so  frightened,  that  for  some  time 
they  did  not  venture  to  meet  again,  or  even 
to  visit  one  another.  There  were  spies  all 
around  them,  and  every  thing  they  did  was 
closely  watched. 

On  the  first  of  March  the  great  kabary  was 
held.  The  soldiers  were  all  placed  in  long 
lines  to  keep  order,  and  they  kept  on  firing 
muskets  and  cannon  to  frighten  the  people. 

Then  the  queen's  proclamation  was  read, 
forbidding  Christian  w^orship,  and  desiring  the 
people  who  had  attended  it,  to  come  and  ac- 
cuse themselves.  She  said  that  she  would 
then  tell  them  what  their  punishment  should 
be,  but  that  if  they  did  not  come  and  accuse 
themselves,  they  were  to  expect  no  mercy. 


CHRISTIANITY    SUPPRESSED.  61 

This  is  a  specimen  of  the  lofty  style  in 
which  the  queen  sends  her  messages  to  the 
people :  "  I  announce  to  you,  O  ye  Ambani- 
andro,  (sons  of  light,)  I  am  not  a  sovereign 
that  deceives,  nor  are  the  servants  deceived. 
I,  therefore,  announce  to  you  what  I  purpose 
to  do,  and  how  I  shall  govern  you.  To  whom 
has  the  kingdom  been  left  by  inheritance,  by 
Andrianimpoina  and  Radama,  but  to  me  ?  If 
any  then  would  change  the  customs  of  our 
ancestors,  I  abhor  that,  saith  Rabodonandrian- 
impoina. 

"As  to  baptism,  societies,  places  of  worship, 
and  the  observance  of  the  sabbath,  how  many 
rulers  are  there  in  this  land  ?  Is  it  not  I  alone 
that  rule?  These  things  are  not  to  be  done, 
they  are  unlawful  in  my  country,  saith  Rana- 
valomanjaka.* 

"  As  for  the  sabbath,  you  are  not  to  use  or 
observe  it,  for  I,  the  sovereign,  do  not  observe 
it  at  all ;  and  it  shall  not  be  done  in  my  coun- 
try, saith  Ranavalomanjaka." 

And  this  is  a  specimen  of  the  humble  and 

flattering  style  in  which  the  people  answer : 

"  May  you,  madam,  attain  to  old   age,  not 

suffering  affliction ;  may  you  equal,  in  length 

*  Manjaka,  means  Sovereign. 

6 


62  CHRISTIANITY    SUPPRESSED. 

of  days,  the  human  race !  and  first  of  all  it  is 
ours  to  express  to  you  our  thankfulness,  for 
that  which  you  say  and  do  is  pleasing,  ac- 
ceptable, and  sweet  to  us;  you  are  a  sove- 
reign not  condemning  too  hastily,  but  first 
taking  time  to  examine  matters  well.  We 
crave  forgiveness  for  the  offences  we  have 
committed;  and  whatever  you  determine  to 
do  with  us,  may  that  cause  you  to  attain  to 
old  age.  Take  courage,  Ranavalomanjaka, 
for  as  long  as  life  is  here,  we  shall  not  relax 
in  your  service,  for  to  whom  did  Andrianim- 
poina  and  Radama  leave  the  kingdom,  but  to 
you  alone  ?  And  if  we  do  these  things  again, 
kill  us,  madam,  for  we  must  be  hogs  and  not 
men,  for  men  dare  not  venture  to  challenge 
the  sun." 

The  usual  conclusion  is,  "to  whom  did 
Andrianimpoina  and  Radama  leave  the  king- 
dom, but  to  you  alone  ?"  Perhaps  this  is  just, 
because  Ranavalona  knows  that  they  did  no 
such  thing. 

A  week  after  the  kahary  was  the  time  fixed 
for  the  people  to  bring  in  their  self-accusa- 
tions. Now  came  the  testing  time  of  who 
were  Christians  and  who  were  not.  Some 
came  with  excuses,  such  as  these,  "  I  went 


CHRISTIANITY    SUPPRESSED.  63 

from  curiosity,  and  seeing  the  evil  of  it,  I 
ceased  to  go."  "  I  observed  the  sabbath,  but 
was  never  baptized."  "  I  never  beHeved,  but 
went  because  others  went."  Some  said, 
"  Since  God  will  not  protect  us,  we  may  as 
well  do  as  we  please;"  and  became  more 
wicked  than  ever.  But  some  there  were  who 
feared  God,  and  feared  a  lie,  far  more  than 
they  feared  the  queen  and  her  punishments, 
and  boldly  told  the  judges  that  they  had  pray- 
ed, and  had  attended  worship  at  every  pos- 
sible opportunity.  One  of  these  Christians 
being  asked  how  many  times  he  had  prayed, 
said  he  could  not  tell.  "  But  I  can  tell 
you,"  said  he,  "  that  for  the  last  three  or  four 
years,  I  have  not  spent  a  single  day  without 
offering  prayer  several  times  a  day."  The 
judges  asked  for  a  specimen  of  his  prayer, 
which  he  cheerfully  gave,  in  the  presence  of 
multitudes.  He  first  told  them  how  he  con- 
fessed his  sins  before  God  and  implored  for- 
giveness, and  asked  God's  help  to  enable  him 
to  Hve  without  sinning ;  to  wash  him  from  his 
sins,  to  make  him  holy,  and  to  prepare  him 
for  eternal  happiness.  He  said  that  he  asked 
these  blessings  for  his  family  and  friends,  for 
the  queen  and  her  subjects.    The  judges  con- 


64  CHRISTIANITY    SUPPRESSED. 

fessed  that  his  prayers  were  good,  but  as  the 
queen  did  not  approve  of  them,  they  ought  not 
to  be  offered  in  her  country.  Some  of  the 
Christians  who  were  there,  said  that  they  did 
not  think  the  judges  had  ever  heard  so  much 
of  the  Gospel  before,  for  this  good  man  spoke 
to  them  a  good  deal  of  the  Saviour,  and  how 
he  died  for  the  guilty.  This  excellent  man 
afterwards  risked  his  life  by  concealing  some 
of  the  Christians. 

The  punishment  of  the  common  people  was, 
to  pay  a  fine  of  a  dollar  and  a  bullock ;  and 
that  of  the  officers  to  be  lowered  in  rank. 
All  who  had  voluntarily  learned  to  read,  or 
been  to  chapel,  or  had  prayer-meetings,  were 
punished :  these  were  between  two  and  three 
thousand  persons. 

One  officer  of  high  rank,  was  so  struck 
with  what  he  now  saw  and  heard,  that  he 
became  a  Christian;  and  he  and  his  wife 
afterwards  sheltered  some  of  the  persecuted 
in  their  house. 

Soon  after  this,  the  people  were  ordered  to 
deliver  up  all  their  Bibles,  and  other  books. 
Those  who  did  not  care  about  them,  immedi- 
ately obeyed  the  order;  but  some  would 
almost  as  soon  have  parted  with  their  lives  as 


AMBASSADORS  SENT  TO  ENGLAND.  65 

with  their  Bibles.     They  hid  them  in  their 
houses,  or  buried  them  in  the  earth. 

THE  BURIED  BIBLES, 

By  James  Edmeston,  Esq. 

When  those  who  loved  God's  holy  name 
Their  treasures  kept  of  greatest  worth, 

Hiding  them,  (misers  do  the  same,) 
Safe  in  the  bosom  of  the  earth ; 

Was  it  their  glittering  gold  or  gem  ? 

Their  shining  silver  ?  beauteous  dress  ? 
Ah  no !  they  do  not  value  them 

The  greatest  treasure  they  possess. 

One  pearl  of  value  they  concealed, 
A  precious  pearl  of  price  unknown ; 

That  holy  book,  where  God  revealed 
And  made  his  love  and  mercy  known. 

This,  as  their  dearest  gem,  they  took, 
Dearest  of  all  beneath  the  skies : — 

What  shame  that  we  that  sacred  book, 
Compared  with  them,  so  little  prize ! 


IX. 

THE  QUEEN  SENDS  AMBASSADORS  TO  ENGLAND. 

The  missionaries  being  forbidden  either  to 
preach  or  teach,  and  the  natives  to  hsten  to 
them,  on  pain  of  death,  they  found  it  was  of 
httle  use  to  remain  any  longer  in  Madagascar. 
6* 


66  AMBASSADORS  SENT  TO  ENGLAND. 

Four  of  them  left  in  June  1835.  Mr.  Johns 
and  Mr.  Bixker  waited  another  year,  to  see 
what  would  take  place,  and  they  spent  part 
of  this  time  in  finishing  a  translation  of  the 
"  Pilgrim's  Progress,"  a  book  which  the  Ma- 
lagasy Christians  love  next  to  the  Bible.  In 
July  1836,  these  two  missionaries  also  left,  by 
order  of  the  queen. 

Just  about  this  time  the  queen  sent  six  of 
her  officers  as  ambassadors  to  England.  As 
they  could  not  speak  English  perfectly,  they 
were  very  glad  to  have  the  help  of  the  re- 
turned missionaries  in  England  as  interpreters. 
They  were  taken  to  see  many  of  the  buildings 
and  schools,  and  public  works  of  London. 
They  went  to  Windsor,  and  were  kindly  re- 
ceived by  King  William  IV.  and  Queen  Ade- 
laide. Mr.  Freeman  was  with  them,  as  in- 
terpreter, and  presented  to  his  Majesty  a  copy 
of  the  Scriptures,  in  the  Malagasy  language, 
beautifully  bound,  with  which  the  king  ex- 
pressed himself  as  much  pleased.  Queen 
Adelaide  met  them  a  second  time,  in  another 
oart  of  the  castle,  and  sent  a  message  to  the 
Queen  of  Madagascar,  telling  her  "  that  she 
could  do  nothing  so  good  for  her  country,  as 
to  receive  the  Christian  religion." 


THE  HISTORY  OF  RAFARAVAVY.  67 


THE  HISTORY  OF  RAFARAVAVY. 

How  lonely  must  the  Christians  in  Madagas- 
car have  felt  when  their  last  missionaries  had 
left  them  !  Yet  One  was  still  with  them,  who 
has  said,  "  I  will  not  leave  you  comfortless,  I 
will  come  to  you."  They  also,  by  degrees, 
began  to  know  each  other,  and  to  hold  secret 
meetings  in  each  other's  houses.  Sometimes 
they  met  on  the  solitary  mountains,  where  they 
could  see  strangers  coming  at  a  distance,  and 
could  venture  to  join  in  a  hymn  of  praise. 

In  July  1836,  a  devoted  Christian  woman, 
named  Rafaravavy,  was  accused  to  the  gov- 
ernment. As  her  history  is  very  interesting, 
I  shall  tell  you  a  good  deal  about  her. 

Rafaravavy  was  at  one  time  a  zealous 
idolater.  Sometimes,  when  her  family  want- 
ed food,  she  would  give  the  little  money  that 
was  left  for  the  service  of  an  idol  instead.  A 
few  years  ago  she  and  her  husband  set  off  to 
an  idol-maker,  who  lived  fifteen  miles  from 
the  capital,  to  purchase  an  idol.  The  idol- 
maker  had  none  made,  but  told  them  to  come 
the  next  day.     They  went  the  next  day,  and 


68  THE  HISTORY  OF  RAFARAVAVY. 

then  he  told  them  that  he  would  have  one 
ready  by  the  evening.  He  chose  a  large 
bough  from  a  tree  in  the  forest,  and  made  a 
god.  In  the  evening,  he  invited  them  to  take 
their  meal  of  rice  with  him,  and  they  saw 
him  put  some  of  the  little  branches,  which  he 
had  cut  off  the  large  branch,  into  the  fire  to 
boil  the  rice.  They  paid  two  dollars  for  the 
god,  and  returned  home.  Soon  afterwards, 
a  young  Christian  called  on  Rafaravavy,  and 
he  read  to  her  the  44th  of  Isaiah,  where  it  is 
said  of  the  idolater,  "  He  burneth  part  (of  the 
tree)  in  the  fire ;  he  roasteth  roast,  and  is  sat- 
isfied ;  and  the  residue  thereof  he  maketh  a 
god,"  &c.  Rafaravavy  was  so  struck  with 
this,  that  from  that  time  she  began  to  believe 
in  the  Bible,  and  in  the  end  became  a  true 
Christian. 

Then  she  was  just  as  zealous  in  the  service 
of  God,  as  she  had  been  in  that  of  idols. 
When  the  persecution  began,  and  public  wor- 
ship was  forbidden,  she  took  one  of  the  largest 
houses  in  the  capital,  that  the  Christians  might 
meet  there.  Three  of  her  servants  went  and 
accused  her  to  one  of  the  judges,  and  said, 
"  If  you  go  and  listen  at  the  window  of  an 
evening,  you  may  hear  her  and  her  friends 


THE  HISTORY  OF  RAFARAVAVY.  69 

reading  the  book  which  the  queen  has  for- 
bidden." A  man  was  sent  to  Hsten.  Rafar- 
avavy  had  been  reading  just  before  he  came, 
but  had  left  off,  and  had  moved  from  the 
window.  Tiie  man  heard  nothing,  and  went 
away.  He  told  a  friend  of  Rafaravavy's, 
and  that  friend  went  and  told  her.  Rafara* 
vavy  spent  much  of  the  night  in  prayer  that 
she  might  have  strength  to  confess  Christ  be- 
fore men,  and  if  such  were  his  will,  to  lay 
down  her  life  for  his  sake.  The  next  morn- 
ing her  father  came  to  try  to  persuade  her  to 
give  up  prayer.  He  said,  "  What  is  this  that 
I  hear,  child  1  It  is  said  that  you  still  con- 
tinue to  pray;  is  it  true?'  She  replied,  "  Yes, 
I  do  pray."  The  old  man  was  grieved. 
♦*  Astonishing !"  said  he,  "  you  do  pray,  and 
are  not  ashamed  to  own  it.  I  know  not  what 
to  think  of  you."  "  But,  dear  father,"  said 
she,  "  I  have  done  it,  and  how  can  I  deny  the 
truth  ?"  "  Who  are  your  companions  1"  ask- 
ed her  father.  "Ask  the  accusers,"  replied 
Rafaravavy ;  "  I  cannot  tell  you  w^ho  are  my 
companions."  A  man  came  and  called  the 
father  out,  and  said,  "  You  had  better  go  to 
the  judge,  and  do  what  you  can  for  her  at 
once ;  there  is  no  use  trying  to  get  her  to 


70  THE  HISTORY  OF  RAFARAVAVY. 

accuse  her  companions.  These  praying  peo- 
ple are  so  stubborn,  that  if  you  were  to  kill 
them  and  cut  them  in  pieces,  they  would  not 
impeach  their  companions/' 

As  Rafaravavy  would  neither  give  up 
prayer  herself,  nor  accuse  her  companions, 
the  accusation  was  sent  to  the  queen.  On 
hearing  it,  the  queen  became  extremely  angry, 
and  said,  "  Is  it  possible  that  there  is  any  one 
so  daring  as  to  defy  me,  and  that  too,  a  wo- 
man ?  This  is  annoying  to  me.  Go  and  put 
her  to  death  at  once;  it  cannot  be  borne.'* 
Rafaravavy's  father  and  brother  had  held 
a  high  rank  in  the  army,  and  had  done  good 
service  to  the  queen.  Her  friends  begged 
hard  for  her  on  this  account,  and  for  that 
lime  her  life  was  spared ;  only  she  had  to  pay 
a  heavy  fine. 

Rafaravavy's  father  was  very  angry  with 
the  servants  who  had  accused  her,  and  he  put 
them  in  irons.  Rafaravavy,  instead  of  feeling 
angry  with  them,  pitied  them,  a^id  entreated 
her  father  to  release  them.  As  soon  as  she 
was  let  go,  she  went  and  talked  to  them,  and 
prayed  with  them,  and  wept  over  them,  till  at 
last  they  wept  for  themselves,  and  said,  "  We 
thought  there  was  something  in  this  religion 


LETTERS  TO  THE  MISSIONARIES.  71 

when  we  saw  you,  instead  of  reproaching, 
pitying  us ;  and  now  we  begin  to  feel  in  our 
own  hearts  what  this  rehgion  is."  Two,  if 
not  all  three,  became  Christians,  and  one  of 
them  has  since  endured  persecution  for  the 
sake  of  Jesus. 

Rafaravavy  sold  her  house  in  town,  and 
took  another  in  a  more  quiet  place.  The 
little  band  of  Christians  continued  to  meet 
sometimes  at  her  house,  sometimes  at  that  of 
another  friend,  and  sometimes  on  a  mountain. 
Now  and  then,  they  used  to  go  a  distance  of 
twenty  miles  to  meet  in  peace. 


XI. 


LETTERS  TO  THE  MISSIONARIES. 

In  1837,  Mr.  Johns  visited  Tamatave,  and 
sent  word  to  the  Christians  that  he  was  there. 
Joseph  and  a  few  others  went  to  meet  him, 
and  took  letters  from  the  Christians.  This  is 
part  of  one  of  the  letters : — 

"  Antananarivo,  2Ath  Asonibola  [June.) 
"  Health   and   happiness   to   you,   beloved 
friends,  say  the  few  disciples  of  Jesus  Christ 
here  in  Madagascar ;  let  us  unite  in  praising 


72  LETTERS  TO  THE  MISSIONARIES. 

God,  for  he  has  not  forsaken  us,  but  guarded 
and  kept  us  by  day  and  night  till  the  present 
time,  that  we  might  not  be  overcome  by  evil, 
nor  conquered  by  the  temptations  of  Satan ; 
but  he  has  enabled  us  to  tread  the  narrow 
path  till  now\ 

"We  do  not  perceive  any  change  in  the 
mind  of  the  queen  with  regard  to  Christianity. 
She  remains  the  same.  But  we  have  less  in- 
terruption since  the  Europeans,  our  friends, 
left  us,  as  it  is  perhaps  thought  that  we  shall 
certainly  forget  the  word  of  God,  now  that 
we  have  no  teachers  here.  The  queen,  how- 
ever, does  not  know  that  the  best  Teacher  of 
all  is  still  here  with  us,  the  Holy  Spirit. 

"  When  we  consider  our  guilt  and  our  pol- 
lution, and  the  evil  that  dwells  in  our  hearts, 
then  we  soon  faint ;  but  when  we  remember 
the  mercy  of  God,  and  the  redemption  there 
is  in  Jesus,  and  when  we  call  to  mind  the 
promises,  then  our  hearts  take  confidence, 
and  we  believe  that  Jesus  can  cleanse  us,  and 
can  bring  us  to  heaven,  though  the  way  be 
difficult;  and  when  we  meet  there,  we  will 
tell  you  all  that  has  befallen  us  by  the  way 
while  here  on  earth. 

"  By  the  strength  of  God  we  shall  still  go 


LETTERS  TO  THE  MISSIONARIES.  73 

forward,  and  not  fear  what  may  befall  us; 
and  if  accused  by  the  people  we  will  go 
straight  forward,  for  we  know  that  if  we  deny 
him  before  men,  Jesus  will  deny  us  before  his 
Father ;  but  if  we  confess  him,  he  will  also 
confess  us  when  he  shall  come  in  clouds  to 
judge  the  world,  and  present  them  that  are 
his,  blameless,  before  his  Father  for  ever. 

"  We  had  some  suspicions  when  the  mis- 
sionaries left  us,  lest  God  also  should  forsake 
us  like  our  friends ;  but  we  have  seen  that  the 
word  of  promise  is  true,  *  I  will  never  leave 
thee,  I  will  never  forsake  thee.'  He  has  in- 
deed remained  with  us,  and  exceedingly  great 
has  been  the  joy  of  our  hearts  in  prayer,  and 
in  conversing  together  on  the  things  that  re- 
late to  the  life  to  come." 

Then  they  beg  for  some  Bibles  in  small 
print,  to  be  easily  carried  about,  and  also 
some  with  references.  They  say  how  de- 
lighted they  are  with  the  Pilgrim's  Progress, 
and  how  much  they  wish  to  have  it  in  print. 
The  letter  concludes  thus : — 

"  All  the  Christians  here  are  teaching 
others  to  read.  There  are  ten  learning  with 
one  friend,  and  six  with  another,  and  four 
7 


74  LETTERS  TO  THE  MISSIONARIES. 

with  another,  and  so  the  number  is  quietly 
augmenting. 

"  Here  are  our  beloved  friends,  the  messen- 
gers of  the  church,  conveying  our  letter  to 
you !  Our  special  salutations  to  the  congre- 
gations in  England,  and  this  is  our  request, 
*  Do  not  forget  us  in  your  supplications,  but 
let  us  unite  in  our  petitions  before  God.' " 

Here  is  part  of  another  sweet  letter  written 
to  Mr.  Freeman  by  the  four  messengers  who 
took  the  other  letters  to  Tamatave. 

"  Tamatave,  August  1st,  1837. 

"  Beloved  Friend, — You  are  not  forgotten, 
but  still  remembered  by  us.  Our  salutations 
to  you.  We  have  now  reached  Tamatave, 
and  have  met  with  our  beloved  father,  Mr. 
Johns,  and  he  told  us  how  the  good  people 
every  where  are  praying  on  our  behalf,  and 
supplicating  God  to  aid  us  and  to  bless  us 
with  all  his  favours. 

"  Yes,  dearly  beloved  friend,  cease  not  to 
ask  God  that  he  would  cause  us  to  tread  the 
narrow  path,  and  pass  through  a  land  where 
there  are  many  adversaries.  We  know  per- 
fectly well  that  through  the  narrow  gate  is 


LETTERS  TO  THE  MISSIONARIES.  75 

the  way  to  the  heavenly  gate,  and  we  fear 
not  to  say,  however  steep  should  be  the  ascent, 
yet  we  will  go  up,  or  however  difficult  the 
path,  it  shall  not  weary  us,  for  we  perceive 
that  the  painful  shall  not  last  long,  but  we 
shall  obtain  the  good.  We  know  that  the 
King  of  the  heavenly  city  has  himself  trodden 
that  difficult  path  :  much  more  then  should  the 
Christian  go  there,  who  has  yielded  himself 
to  the  King  of  kings. 

"  How  much  does  the  compassion  of  the 
Saviour  console  us  now  !  The  word  is  indeed 
true  that  says, '  I  will  send  unto  you  the  Com- 
forter. It  is  expedient  for  you  that  I  go  away.' 
Precious  to  us  now  is  Jesus.  He  is  our  Rock 
and  our  Shield,  our  Hope  and  our  Life. 

"  Whither  should  we  go  in  our  distress,  but 
unto  Jesus,  for  he  has  the  words  of  eternal 
life? 

"  Farewell  till  we  meet,  whether  in  this  life 
or  the  life  to  come.  Still  we  shall  not  forget 
to  pray  to  God  that  you  may  yet  return  again 
to  us  here ;  and  if  we  do  not  meet  in  this  life, 
yet  through  the  mercy  of  God  we  hope  we 
shall  meet  there,  and  then  we  will  tell  the 
difficulties  of  the  path,  and  the  tribulation  we 
had  whilst  still  on  earth." 


76  LETTERS  TO  THE  MISSIONARIES.' 

In  another  letter  some  other  Christians 
write  word  to  Mr.  Johns  of  the  death  of  one 
of  their  number.  They  say,  "  Our  beloved 
friend  Ramamonjihasina  died  on  his  way 
home  from  the  expedition  to  the  north.  We 
must  not  now  grieve  for  him ;  he  is  now  with 
the  Saviour  whom  he  loved.  One  of  our 
friends  was  with  him  in  his  tent  when  he  died, 
and  asked  him  whether  he  had  any  fear  of 
death.  He  replied,  '  Why  should  I  fear  to 
die,  while  Jesus  is  my  friend  1  I  am  persuad- 
ed he  will  not  leave  me  now,  and  I  am  full 
of  joy  in  the  thought  of  leaving  this  sinful 
World  to  be  for  ever  with  my  Saviour.' " 

The  Malagasy,  while  heathens,  have  the 
greatest  dread  of  death.  It  surprises  them 
much  when  they  hear  the  Christians  say,  "  I 
do  not  fear  to  die."  Can  you,  dear  readers, 
say  the  same? 

Some  of  the  Christians  who  knew  this 
young  man,  said  that  he  could  never  speak  of 
Jesus  without  tears.  Being  one  day  asked 
how  this  was,  he  said,  "  How  can  I  do  other- 
wise than  feel  when  I  mention  the  name  of 
that  beloved  Saviour  who  suffered  and  died 
on  the  cross  for  me  ?" 


hafaravavy's  house  pulled  down.       T^ 


SONNET. 

By  James  Edmeston,  Esq. 
He  could  not  speak  the  name  without  a  tear : 

So  gratitude  and  love  would  fill  his  heart, 
And  memory  of  Christ's  sufferings  endear, 

That  at  the  thought  the  constant  tear  would  start 
To  us  it  seems  an  old  and  worn-out  tale, 

Feeble  in  interest,  and  so  often  heard. 

That  like  a  common  and  accustomed  word, 
The  power  and  sweetness  of  its  accents  fail. 
Oh,  for  some  portion  of  that  holy  fire. 

To  kindle  in  our  icy  hearts  more  love ! 

Descend,  celestial  Spirit,  from  above ! 
And  recollections  of  our  Lord  inspire ! 
So  should  that  sacred  name  have  power  to  wake 
Deep  thoughts  of  all  he  suffered  for  our  sake 


XII. 

rafaravavy's  house  pulled  down. 

While  Mr.  Johns  was  meeting  the  Christians 
at  Tamatave,  ten  of  those  in  the  capital  were 
accused.  Among  these  was  Rafaravavy,  and 
also  one  of  the  servants  who  a  year  before 
had  accused  her.  The  queen's  messengers 
came  four  times  to  Rafaravavy.  She  at  once 
confessed  to  them  that  she  prayed,  but  they 
could  not  get  her  to  betray  her  friends.  The 
7* 


78        rafaravavy's  house  pulled  down. 

third  time  they  came,  they  said  they  were 
sent  by  the  queen  to  ask  her  the  names  of  her 
companions,  and  they  said  also,  "  the  queen 
knows  as  well  as  you  do  who  they  are,  but  she 
wishes  to  give  you  the  opportunity  of  telling 
the  whole  truth."  "  If  the  queen  knows  as 
well  as  I  do,"  said  Rafaravavy,  "  why  then 
do  you  ask  me  again  ?"  "  You  are  indeed," 
said  they,  *'  exceedingly  obstinate.  Razafit- 
sara  told  us  that  you  were  her  companion ; 
we  shall  fetch  her  here  to  force  you."  When 
Razafitsara  was  brought,  Rafaravavy  said, 
"  We  have  prayed  together,  and  we  do  not 
deny  it."  "  Where  then  did  you  pray  ?'  said 
the  men.  "  We  prayed  in  this  house,"  said 
the  two  women,  "  and  in  the  house  of  Raza- 
fitsara, and  in  many  other  places;  indeed 
wherever  we  went  we  tried  to  remember 
God,  and  prayed  to  him  to  forgive  us,  and  to 
do  us  good."  "  Have  you  not  prayed  on 
Ankatso?"  (the  name  of  a  mountain)  said 
they.  "  Yes,"  said  the  women,  "  but  not  there 
only ;  but  as  we  told  you,  wherever  we  went 
we  remembered  God,  in  the  house  or  out  of 
it,  in  town,  in  the  country,  or  on  the  moun- 
tains."    Then  the  messengers  went  to  the 


79 

other  Christians  to  try  the  same  arts  with 
them. 

For  a  fortnight  the  Christians  did  not  know 
what  would  be  done  to  their  ten  friends  who 
were  taken  up.  On  the  fourteenth  day,  the 
people  in  the  market  had  a  message  from  the 
queen  to  go  and  seize  every  thing  that  belong- 
ed to  Rafaravavy  for  themselves.  She  knew 
nothing  of  this  order  till  the  people  came  rush- 
ing to  her  house,  and  snatching  up  every  thing 
that  they  could  lay  their  hands  on.  Soon  the 
house  was  full  of  strange  people,  and  every 
thing  she  had  was  gone.  Then  they  pulled 
the  house  down,  and  carried  it  all  away. 

KAPARAVA^n^'S  HOUSE  DESTROYED. 

By  James  Edmeston,  Esq. 

How  like  to  wolves,  all  eager  for  the  prey ! 

Her  home,  her  little  wealth,  her  all  they  seize : 
But  injured  meekness  sees  them  pass  away. 

And  feels  that  she  has  better  things  than  these. 

These  perishing  possessions  cause  their  strife ; 

All  that  they  love,  and  all  they  wish  they  make : 
But  she  has  treasures  of  eternal  life. 

Firm  and  unfading,  which  they  cannot  take. 

What  though  her  earthly  house  be  overthrown, 
And  not  a  roof  to  shelter  her  be  left ; 

The  secret  place  of  God  her  soul  has  known, 
And  of  that  home  she  cannot  be  bereft. 


80     RAFARAVAVY  UNDER  SENTENCE  OF  DEATH. 

Lightly  the  maddened  rage  of  man  must  fall 
On  hearts  that  in  the  Saviour's  peace  can  rest : 

With  God  our  Father,  Helper,  Friend,  not  all 
That  men  can  do,  can  agitate  the  breast. 


XIII. 

RAFARAVAVY  UNDER  SENTENCE  OF  DEATH. 

As  Rafaravavy  stood  without  a  roof  to  shelter 
her,  four  executioners  came  to  her  and  told 
her  to  follow  them.  She  asked  whither  they 
were  going  to  take  her.  They  said,  "  The 
queen  knows  what  to  do  with  you.  The  way 
we  go,  you  are  to  follow."  She  obeyed,  and 
followed.  They  took  her  along  the  road  by 
which  criminals  are  taken  to  Ambohiposy, 
the  place  of  execution.  She  thought  they 
were  going  to  kill  her,  but  the  fear  of  death 
was  gone.  On  the  way  she  often  repeated 
the  prayer  of  Stephen,  "  Lord  Jesus,  receive 
my  spirit." 

One  young  and  beloved  Christian  followed 
her  up  to  town,  and  she  managed  to  say  to 
him,  without  being  heard,  "  Go  with  me  and 
see  my  end,  and  hear  my  last  words.  If  I 
shall  find  by  experience  the  strength  of  Christ 
sufficient  for  my  support,  it  may  encourage 


RAFARAVAVY  UNDER  SENTENCE  OF  DEATH.      81 

our  friends  who  may  be  called  to  follow  my 
steps."  He  replied,  "  I  shall  not  leave  you, 
dear  sister.  Go  on  and  cleave  to  Him  on 
whom  you  have  built  your  hope."  The  exe* 
cutioners  led  her  into  the  house  of  one  of  Rai- 
niharo's  officers,  and  very  heavy  irons  were 
put  on  her.  These  irons  are  called,  "  Be  rano 
maso,"  which  means  "  many  tears."  As  the 
smith  was  fastening  them  on,  one  of  the  men 
said,  "  Do  not  put  them  on  too  fast,  it  will  be 
difficult  to  take  them  off;  she  is  to  be  put  to 
death  to-morrow  morning  at  cock-crow." 

That  very  night  a  fire  broke  out  in  the 
capital,  burnt  down  many  houses,  and  caused 
so  much  confusion,  that  Rafaravavy  was  for- 
gotten. Some  think  that  the  queen,  who  is 
very  superstitious,  was  afraid  to  send  another 
order  for  her  execution.  She  was  kept  in 
irons  five  months,  and  could  not  move  an  inch 
day  or  night.  Five  soldiers  guarded  her. 
One  day  one  of  the  soldiers  left  his  post,  and 
came  running  back  to  tell  her  that  the  people 
were  boiling  water  to  put  some  criminal  to 
death  that  day.  She  asked  who  he  thought 
it  was  for,  and  he  told  her  he  did  not  know, 
but  that  people  said  it  must  be  herself.  Four 
executioners   came   up    just   after,   and  the 


82     RAFARAVAVY  UNDER  SENTENCE  OF  DEATH. 

guards  then  felt  sure  that  it  must  be  for  Raf- 
aravavy,  and  began  to  take  off  her  irons. 
She  commended  herself  to  her  Redeemer,  and 
thought  that  in  a  short  time  her  sufierings 
would  be  ended,  and  she  should  be  present 
with  the  Lord.  In  a  little  while  she  found 
that  it  was  some  one  else  that  was  to  be  put 
to  death  that  day,  and  that  the  executioners 
had  come  that  way  by  accident. 

Her  father,  though  very  fond  of  her,  gave 
her  up  as  lost,  and  hardly  ever  came  near  her. 
Her  Christian  friends,  however,  visited  her  as 
often  as  they  dared,  and  did  all  they  could  to 
comfort  her.  Sometimes  they  took  a  Bible 
or  tract  with  them,  and  sitting  down  would 
hide  it  with  their  lambas,  and  read  to  her  in 
a  low  tone.  Others  who  were  not  Christians 
visited  her,  and  she  always  spoke  to  them  of 
the  love  of  the  Saviour.  She  also  talked  to 
the  soldiers  who  guarded  her.  One  of  them 
was  much  impressed  by  what  she  said,  and 
hoped  he  should  hear  more.  "  I  am  delighted," 
said  she,  "  to  hear  you  say  so,  and  shall  re- 
joice to  tell  you  all  I  know.  I  firmly  believe 
there  is  a  world  after  this,  and  if  I  did  not,  I 
should  be  the  most  miserable  of  beings.  It  is 
this  which  enables  me  to  bear  all  these  afflic- 


MAllTYRllO.M    OF    UASALAWA.  Pilge  83. 


THE  MARTYRDOM  OF  RASALAMA.  83 

tions  with  cheerfulness.  My  father,  and  mo- 
ther, and  relations,  as  you  know,  have  for- 
saken me,  but  I  have  a  Father  in  heaven  who 
can  make  up  the  loss."  There  is  reason  to 
hope  that  this  soldier  has  become  a  disciple 
of  Jesus. 

After  five  months  there  came  from  the 
queen  an  order  to  sell  her  into  perpetual 
slavery.  The  wife  of  her  new  master  was  a 
relation  of  hers,  and  they  treated  her  kindly, 
and  gave  her  permission  to  go  and  come  as 
she  pleased  when  she  had  finished  her  work. 
Here  she  again  saw  her  husband.  He  was  a 
colonel  in  the  army,  and  stationed  on  the 
coast,  and,  hearing  of  her  distress,  had  begged 
leave  to  visit  the  capital  for  a  few  months. 
Thus  freed  from  the  fear  of  immediate  death, 
and  in  the  company  of  one  so  dear  to  her,  we 
will  leave  her  for  a  while,  and  visit  the  other 
Christians  who  were  in  confinement. 


XIV. 

THE  MARTYRDOM  OF  RASALAMA. 

Among  the  ten  Christians  who  were  taken  up 
in  1837,  there  was  one  good  woman  of  the 


84  THE  MARTYRDOM  OF  RASALAMA. 

name  of  Rasalama.  When  the  messengers 
of  the  queen  went  to  her  and  said  to  her  as 
they  had  done  to  Rafaravavy  and  the  others, 
"  the  queen  knows  the  names  of  your  com- 
panions, but  wishes  to  see  whether  you  speak 
the  truth,"  Rasalama  beheved  them,  and  told 
the  names  of  her  friends.  Among  these  were 
seven  fresh  names,  and  these  Christians  were 
directly  taken  up.  When  Rasalama  found 
how  she  had  been  deceived,  she  was  very 
much  distressed,  for  she  would  gladly  have 
died  to  save  her  friends,  and  would  never 
have  given  up  their  names  if  she  had  thought 
that  they  were  still  secret.  She  was  confined 
in  the  house  of  one  of  the  most  cruel  men  in 
Madagascar,  who  loaded  her  with  irons.  Be^ 
sides  this,  she  was  cruelly  flogged  for  several 
days,  but  she  continued  to  talk  and  sing 
hymns.  She  was  sentenced  to  die.  The  night 
before  her  death,  instead  of  allowing  her  to 
rest  in  peace,  they  put  on  her  another  sort  of 
irons,  which  forced  all  her  limbs  together,  as 
if  she  had  been  packed  in  a  small  case. 
The  next  morning  she  was  led  to  execution, 
and  she  sang  hymns  by  the  way.  As  she 
passed  the  mission  chapel,  she  said,  "  There 
I  heard  the  words  of  the  Saviour."     When 


THE  MARTYRDOM  OF  RASALAMA.  85 

she  reached  the  place  of  execution,  she  asked 
leave  to  kneel  down  and  pray.  She  calmly- 
knelt  down,  and  while  committing  her  soul 
into  the  hands  of  her  Redeemer,  three  or  four 
executioners  plunged  their  spears  into  her  side 
and  heart.  Such  was  her  composure,  that 
even  her  executioners  said,  "  There  is  some 
charm  in  the  religion  of  the  white  people 
which  takes  away  the  fear  of  death." 

One  young  Christian  named  Rafaralahy, 
and  only  that  one,  ventured  to  the  place,  fie 
saw  the  calmness  with  which  she  died,  and 
returned  home  a  martyr  in  spirit.  "  If,"  said 
he,  "  I  might  die  so  tranquil  and  happy  a 
death,  I  should  not  be  unwilling  to  die  for  the 
Saviour  too."  He  did  not  know  how  soon  he 
was  to  be  put  to  the  test. 

SONNET. 

By  James  Edmeston,  Esq. 
Is  there  no  power  in  the  glorious  beam 
Of  the  bright  sun  ?    Hath  hfe  so  little  worth  ? 
Or  the  rich  garden  of  the  joyous  earth  ? 

Or  the  warm  gushing  of  the  spirit's  stream, 

To  tempt  thee  back  ?    Dost  thou  so  worthless  deem 
The  ties  of  friendship,  and  of  love,  that  bind 
Within  their  silken  cords  the  captive  mind? 

That  so  unmoved  by  terror  thou  dost  seem, 
And  shrinkest  not  at  the  cold  touch  of  death, 

Nor  the  devouring  dogs  that  wait  their  prey, 
8 


b  FOUR  CHRISTIANS  IN  SLAVERY. 

Ready  to  seize,  whene'er  shall  pass  away 

That  airy  chain  of  life — thy  fleeting  breath. 
No !  suns  unsetting,  heaven's  far  fairer  bloom, 
Life  purer,  never  parting  love,  attend  thy  doom. 


XV. 

FOUR   CHRISTIANS    IN   SLAVERY. 

The  rest  of  the  ten  Christians  were  sold  as 
slaves.  Five  of  them  v^ere  bought  by  the 
same  master,  and  w^orked  in  the  same  field. 
After  working  hard  all  day,  they  were  put  in 
heavy  irons  every  night.  The  rice  that  was 
allowed  them  for  a  week,  was  only  enough 
for  two  days,  and  if  their  Christian  friends 
had  not  fed  them,  they  must  have  been  nearly 
starved.  An  eminent  Christian  named  Paul, 
was  the  eldest  of  the  party,  and  he  did  much 
to  strengthen  them.  He  often  repeated  to 
them  the  forty-sixth  psalm,  and  at  midnight 
they  used  to  pray  and  read  the  Scriptures  to- 
gether. Joseph  and  Ramanisa  were  after  a 
while  sent  to  another  master,  still  more  cruel, 
named  Ramiandravola.  If  any  accident  hap- 
pened to  him,  he  accused  them  of  being  the 
cause,  and  said  that  they  used  witchcraft  to 
injure  him.     Finding  that  they  did  their  work 


FOUR  CHRISTIANS  IN  SLAVERY.  87 

better  than  the  other  slaves,  he  made  them 
overseers  of  all,  and  when  the  other  slaves 
were  idle,  he  made  it  an  excuse  to  beat  the 
overseers.  He  said,  "It  is  your  fault  that 
they  are  idle;  it  is  because  you  are  so  mild. 
I  will  show  you  how  to  treat  those  under  you. 
Do  with  them  in  this  manner;"  and  then  he 
flogged  poor  Joseph  and  Ramanisa  till  the 
whip  cut  into  the  flesh. 

While  Joseph  and  Ramanisa  were  working 
under  this  cruel  master,  David  and  Simeon 
were  employed  in  the  rice-ground  of  Raini- 
haro.  After  three  months,  Rainiharo  wanted 
them  to  wait  upon  his  son ;  but  first  he  caused 
them  to  be  put  to  the  ordeal  of  tangena,  to  be 
sure  that  they  were  free  from  witchcraft. 
Simeon  got  over  it  very  easily,  and  was  soon 
pronounced  innocent.  It  made  David  very 
ill;  he  was  in  dreadful  pain,  and  thought  he 
was  dying,  and  his  friends  came  to  bid  him 
farewell.  He  did  recover,  though  he  could 
not  see  well  for  some  months,  and  felt  weak 
and  ill  for  a  very  long  time. 


^  MARTYRDOM  OF  RAFARALAHY. 

XVI. 

THE   HISTORY   AND   MARTYRDOM  OF   RAFARALAHY. 

You  will  remember  that  when  Rasalama  was 
put  to  death,  a  young  man  named  Rafaralahy 
was  standing  by.  His  father  had  left  him 
some  property.  He  had  learned  to  read,  and 
had  opened  his  house  for  religious  woi'ship  for 
some  time,  but  did  not  give  proof  of  being  a 
true  Christian  till  after  the  persecution  began. 
He  then  gave  up  his  heart  to  Jesus.  He 
taught  several  of  his  servants  to  read,  and  had 
the  joy  of  seeing  many  of  his  dearest  friends 
become  Christians.  He  was  very  anxious  to 
see  the  same  change  in  his  beloved  mother. 
He  prayed  most  fervently  for  her,  and  often 
begged  his  friends  to  remember  his  "mother" 
in  their  prayers.  He  often  sent  a  trusty  ser- 
vant with  food  and  other  things  for  his  perse- 
cuted brethren.  He  divided  his  rice-ground, 
and  set  the  larger  portion  of  it  apart  for  those 
who  were  in  distress.  He  removed  to  a  very 
retired  place,  and  his  house  became  a  home 
for  the  afflicted  Christians. 

Rafaralahy  spoke  of  the  love  of  Jesus  to  his 
neighbours  also,  and  was  the  means  of  leading 


MARTYRDOM  OF  RAFARALAHT.        89 

several  to  believe  in  the  Saviour.  There 
were  three  lepers  in  a  hut  not  far  from  his 
house.  This  disease  is  very  common  in 
JMadagascar,  and  those  who  are  afflicted  with 
it  are  much  to  be  pitied.  They  are  separated 
from  their  families,  and  live  alone  till  death. 
Their  friends  take  food  for  them,  and  place  it 
at  some  distance  from  their  huts  that  they 
may  fetch  it.  Rafaralahy  felt  much  for  these 
three  lepers,  and  often  said  to  his  Christian 
friends,  "  How  happy  they  might  be  if  they 
knew  the  Saviour !  How  pleasantly  they 
might  spend  their  time  together  in  reading  the 
Scriptures  and  conversing  on  the  love  of 
Christ.  They  might  read,  sing,  and  pray 
without  any  fear  of  being  discovered ;  what  a 
pity  they  had  not  learned  to  read  before  they 
were  taken  ill !"  At  last  he  resolved  to  go 
and  teach  them.  They  were  very  grateful  to 
him,  and  in  a  few  weeks  they  were  able  to 
read  the  Testaments  which  he  gave  them. 
One  of  them  happening  to  lose  his  Testament, 
all  three  went  in  search  of  it  for  a  whole  day 
in  vain.  They  returned  to  their  shed,  and 
kneeling  down  together  they  prayed  that  God 
would  guide  them  to  the  place  where  their 
8* 


VW        MARTYRDOM  OF  RAFARALAHY. 

treasure  was.  After  the  prayer  they  again 
searched,  and  soon  found  the  book. 

There  was  a  printer  named  Rafiakarana, 
who  had  been  one  of  the  first  to  profess  Chris- 
tianity. He  was  also  the  first  to  speak  to 
Rafaralahy  about  rehgion.  When  the  queen 
forbade  the  worship  of  the  true  God,  Rafiaka- 
rana turned  round  and  took  part  against  the 
Christians.  Rafaralahy  was  so  grieved  that 
he  went  and  talked  to  his  old  friend  about  his 
conduct.  Rafiakarana  pretended  to  be  very 
sorry,  and  said  that  if  he  were  not  so  poor, 
and  had  not  a  wife  and  children  to  support, 
he  would  not  do  so.  He  then  asked  Rafara- 
lahy to  take  him  into  partnership.  Rafaralahy 
did  so,  and  was  at  length  so  imposed  upon  by 
Rafiakarana's  professions  that  he  invited  him 
to  meet  the  other  Christians  at  his  house. 
Rafiakarana  had  part  of  Rafaralahy's  goods 
to  sell,  and  when  Rafaralahy  asked  him  for 
the  money,  he  went  to  Rainiharo  and  accused 
his  kind  friend  and  the  rest  of  the  Christians 
who  met  in  his  house.  Rainiharo  was  the 
same  cruel  officer  to  whom  David  and  Simeon 
were  slaves. 

Rafaralahy  was  seized  and  put  in  irons. 
Every  thing  was  done  to  make  him  tell  the 


MARTYRDOM  OF  RAFARALAHY.       91 

names  of  his  companions,  but  he  always  said, 
"  Let  the  queen  do  what  she  pleases  with  me, 
but  I  will  not  accuse  my  friends."  When  the 
executioners  came  to  lead  him  forth,  and 
asked,  "Which  is  Rafaralahy ?'  he  calmly 
answered,  "  I  am,  sir."  They  took  oft'  his 
irons,  and  told  him  to  go  with  them.  He 
arose  immediately  and  went  with  them,  speak- 
ing to  them  all  the  way  of  Jesus,  and  of  the 
happiness  he  felt  at  the  thought  of  shortly  see- 
ing him  who  had  loved  and  died  for  him. 
W^hen  he  reached  the  place  of  execution,  he 
asked  for  a  few  moments  to  pray.  He  com- 
mitted his  soul  to  the  Saviour  and  prayed 
most  fervently  for  his  country,  and  for  his 
persecuted  brethren.  He  then  rose  from  his 
knees,  and  the  executioners  were  going  to 
throw  him  with  violence  on  the  ground. 
"No,"  he  said,  "there  is  no  need  for  that;  I 
have  no  fear  of  dying."  He  quietly  laid  him- 
self down,  and  was  immediately  speared  to 
death. 

One  of  the  three  lepers  had  died  in  the  faith 
of  Jesus  a  few  months  before.  The  two  others 
were  full  of  grief  and  sorrow  when  they  heard 
of  the  death  of  their  dear  kind  friend.  They 
begged  the  first  Christian  whom  they  saw  to 


»5S  THE    FLIGHT. 

teach  them  in  his  stead :  he  promised  to  do  so, 
but  was  obliged  only  a  few  hours  after  to  save 
his  own  life  by  flight. 

Rafaralahy's  property  was  all  seized.  Ra- 
fiakarana  hoped  to  have  come  in  for  a  share 
of  the  spoil :  he  pretended  that  some  money 
was  owing  to  him  :  instead  of  that,  it  was 
found  that  he  owed  fifteen  dollars  to  Rafara- 
lahy,  and  he  narrowly  escaped  being  sold  into 
slavery.  Who  would  not  rather  have  been 
the  martyr  Rafaralahy  than  the  apostate  Ra- 
fiakarana  1 


XVII. 


THE    FLIGHT. 


VepvY  soon  after  the  death  of  Rafaralahy,  the 
government  gave  orders  to  apprehend  several 
more  of  the  Christians.  Rafaravavy  was 
sitting  talking  with  two  friends  of  hers  in 
a  house  not  far  from  the  capital,  when  some 
one  brought  the  word  that  her  life  was  again 
in  danger,  and  that  her  two  friends  were  also 
among  the  accussed.  Rafaravavy  resolved 
to  return  to  her  master's  house,  as  she  thought 
she  would  rather  be  put  to  death  at  the  capi- 


THE    FLIGHT.  93 

tal,  where  some  Christian  friends  might  be 
near,  than  in  that  place  where  no  one  knew 
her.  The  three  women  set  out  together,  and 
went  on  till  they  reached  the  foot  of  Ambohi- 
potsy.  As  they  went  they  talked  together  of 
the  Saviour,  and  of  the  joy  they  should  feel 
on  seeing  him  for  the  first  time  in  heaven. 
They  knelt  down  and  commended  each  other 
to  his  care,  and  then  parted  with  the  hope  of 
shortly  meeting  in  heaven.  The  two  women 
went  another  way,  and  are  thought  to  be  still 
in  exile.  Rafaravavy  went  on  alone,  and  as 
she  went  she  ceased  not  to  pray  fervently  that 
God  would  give  her  strength  to  lay  down  her 
life  for  his  sake,  if  such  were  his  holy  will. 
When  she  reached  her  master's  house,  she 
found  that  he  was  out,  and  that  the  soldiers 
had  not  yet  been  for  her.  She  went  out  to 
inquire  further,  and  on  her  way  she  called  at 
Simeon's  house.  There  she  found  that  Simeon 
and  David  were  in  the  same  danger.  They 
talked  and  prayed  together,  and  remembered 
the  words  of  Jesus,  "  If  they  persecute  you  in 
one  city,  flee  to  another ;"  and  they  began  to 
think  that  it  was  their  duty  to  try  to  save  their 
lives  by  flight.  The  names  of  Paul  and 
Andrianantoandro  were  also  among  the  ac- 


d4 


THE    FLIGHT. 


cused.  Simeon  and  David  sent  a  messenger 
for  them,  but  he  could  not  find  them.  The 
first  part  of  the  night  was  spent  by  Simeon 
and  David  in  settling  accounts,  and  in  making 
up  the  money  and  other  property  vi^hich  their 
master,  Rainiharo,  had  trusted  in  their  hands 
This  time  vv^as  very  precious  to  them,  and  the 
delay  might  have  cost  their  lives;  but  they 
would  not  go  till  they  had  left  in  safe  deposit 
what  was  owing  to  their  master.  The  parcel 
in  which  they  left  the  money  did  not  reach 
the  hands  of  Rainiharo  for  two  or  three 
months,  and  he  thought  that  they  had  taken 
the  money  with  them.  When  he  opened  the 
parcel  and  found  the  money  and  the  unsold 
cloth,  he  was  astonished  at  their  honesty;  and 
he  said,  "  This  is  not  the  general  custom  of 
people,  and  especially  of  slaves  who  run  away 
from  their  masters;  these  would,  indeed,  make 
excellent  servants  if  they  would  leave  off  their 
religion." 

Simeon's  wife  was  in  ill  health,  and  she  felt 
so  much  when  she  saw  her  husband  prepare 
to  go,  that  he  resolved  to  run  the  risk  of  stay- 
ing in  the  capital,  that  he  might  still  be  near 
her.  He  was  hid  three  months  in  a  friend's 
house.    He  had  a  warm  hiding-place,  espe- 


THE    FLIGHT.  95 

cially  in  cooking  time.  He  was  hid  in  a  kind 
of  rack  over  the  hearth.  One  day  when  he 
was  there  alone,  a  thief  came  in  and  stole 
some  rice  and  meat.  Simeon  told  his  host, 
and  he  charged  the  man  with  stealing.  The 
thief  was  much  frightened,  for  he  thought  that 
God  must  have  seen  him  and  have  told  of 
him.  Another  time  an  officer  and  his  dekana 
came  in,  and  sat  down  under  the  place  where 
Simeon  lay,  and  they  talked  of  the  danger  in 
which  the  Christians  were,  and  how  impossi- 
ble it  was  that  they  could  hide  in  any  place 
where  they  would  not  be  found  out.  Simeon 
heard  it  all,  and  yet  they  did  not  find  him  out. 
After  three  months  he  could  no  longer  hide 
safely  there,  and  he  was  obliged  to  leave  the 
capital  and  go  to  his  other  friends. 

We  must  go  back  to  the  Christians  who 
were  busy  making  up  accounts.  When  the 
money  was  all  made  right,  and  they  had 
again  knelt  and  prayed  together,  Joseph, 
David,  and  his  wife,  Andrianimanana,  and 
Rafaravavy,  set  out  together  at  midnight. 
They  walked  that  night  and  the  next  day,  and 
though  there  were  many  watchmen  about, 
they  were  not  caught ;  and  in  the  evening  they 
safely  reached  the  house  of  some  friends  who 


06 


THE    FOREST. 


lived  fifty  miles  west  of  the  capital.  The 
names  of  these  friends  were  Rafaralahy,* 
Andrianilaina,  and  Sarah  his  wife. 

The  morning  after  the  five  Christians  had 
started,  the  officers  went  to  seize  Rafaravavy, 
and  of  course  they  could  not  find  her.  They 
took  Paul  and  Andrianantoandro,put  them  in 
heavy  irons,  and  tied  up  their  hands  in  a 
small  basket,  which  was  a  sign  that  they  were 
sentenced  to  die. 


XVIII. 

THE   FOREST. 


Though  Rafaravavy  and  her  friends  had  es- 
caped from  the  capital,  they  could  not  be 
feappy  without  knowing  what  had  become  of 
Paul  and  Andrianantoandro.  Joseph  and 
Andrianimanana  were  very  tired,  and  they 
had  been  up  the  greatest  part  of  three  nights, 
but  the  next  day  they  set  out  again,  and  walk- 
ed back  thirty-five  miles  to  Paul's  village. 
There  they  heard  the  sad  news  that  he  had 

*  This  was  another  Rafaralahy.  Rafaralahy,  means 
the  youngest  son ;  and  Rafaravavy,  the  youngest  daugh- 
ter.   These  are  common  names  in  Madagascar. 


THE    FOREST.  97 

been  taken  up.  The  day  after,  they  went 
back  the  thirty-live  miles  again,  and  joined 
Rafaravavy  and  their  friends  late  in  the  even- 
inor. 

o 

Next  morning  they  heard  that  soldiers  were 
in  search  of  them  in  all  directions,  and  they 
were  much  perplexed  to  know  whither  to  go 
for  safety.  At  length  Joseph  and  David  re- 
solved to  hide  in  the  forest.  As  their  wives 
were  not  yet  accused,  it  was  thought  better 
for  them  to  remain  at  home,  because  the 
more  there  were  together,  the  more  ditiicult  it 
would  be  to  hide. 

In  the  depth  of  the  dark  night,  and  in  a 
pouring  rain,  Joseph  and  David  once  more 
set  out  on  their  dangerous  journey.  Before 
day-break  they  reached  a  friend's  house,  eight 
or  ten  miles  from  the  capital.  This  friend 
did  all  he  could  to  comfort  them.  He  lighted 
a  fire,  dried  their  wet  clothes,  gave  them  food, 
a  little  money,  a  Bible,  Testament,  and  tracts. 
He  then  sent  them  on  part  of  the  way  till  they 
had  crossed  some  large  streams,  which  were 
swollen  by  the  torrents.  Next  day  they  plung- 
ed into  the  forest,  and  there  they  remained 
nearly  six  months. 

Their  friend  came  to  them,  and  helped 
9 


98  THE    FOREST. 

them  to  build  a  little  shed,  and  brought  them 
rice  from  time  to  time.  As  he  had  forty  or 
fifty  miles  to  come  every  time,  and  could  not 
venture  to  send  any  one  else,  if  any  thing  had 
happened  to  him,  they  might  have  been 
starved.  They  suflered  much  from  cold  and 
rain,  and  more  than  once  they  were  in  danger 
of  being  taken  up  as  robbers,  by  people  who 
came  to  cut  timber.  They  had,  however, 
plenty  of  wood  to  make  fires :  and,  what  to 
them  was  the  greatest  comfort,  they  had  plenty 
of  time  for  reading  and  prayer.  After  three 
months,  Simeon  was  obliged  to  leave  his  hid- 
ing-place in  the  capital,  and  he  came  and 
joined  them.  After  four  months,  their  friend 
had  spent  all  his  money,  and  he  was  obliged 
to  go  to  another  part  of  the  forest  to  cut  wood 
and  make  bowls,  to  sell  at  the  capital.  David, 
who  was  not  so  well  known  as  the  rest,  was 
to  go  and  help  him,  and  they  fixed  a  time  and 
place  to  meet.  Simeon  and  Joseph  were  so 
ill  and  weak  from  the  cold  and  damp,  that 
they  could  hardly  stand  upon  their  feet.  David 
thought  he  would  try  to  make  them  a  more 
comfortable  shed,  before  he  went  to  join  his 
friend ;  and  in  cutting  wood  for  the  new  shed, 
he  cut  his  foot  so  badly  that  he  could  not 


RAPARAVAVY  AGAIN.  UVl 

walk.  Now  they  were  in  a  sad  plight ;  their 
friend  would  not  be  back  for  three  weeks,  and 
he  had  only  left  just  rice  enough  for  two. 
They  finished  the  rice  in  two  weeks  instead 
of  three :  then  they  tried  to  find  roots  and  wild 
fruits  to  eat,  but  they  could  not ;  and  they 
thought  they  had  better  run  all  risks,  and  try 
to  reach  their  friends  at  the  capital,  than  stay 
there  and  be  famished.  Lame,  feeble,  and 
half  starved,  they  set  out  together,  reached 
the  capital  in  safety,  and  were  concealed  by 
their  friends. 


XIX. 

RAFARAVAVY    AGAIN. 

Now  let  us  go  back,  and  see  what  has  become 
of  Rafaravavy.  We  left  her  with  Rafaralahy 
and  Andrianilaina  and  Sarah,  just  after  her 
first  escape  from  the  capital.  For  some  time 
she  remained  with  these  kind  friends.  They 
were  very  poor,  and  provisions  were  scarce ; 
but  they  always  shared  their  last  morsel  with 
her.  In  the  day-time  Rafaravavy  used  to 
hide  herself  among  the  crags  of  a  neighbour- 
ing mountain,  and  Sarah  generally  kept  her 


100  RAFARAVAVy  AGAIN. 

company.  At  night,  they  used  to  get  back  to 
the  house.  They  were  often  drenched  with 
l*ain,  and  in  danger  from  storms  and  light- 
ning, and  two  or  three  times  in  great  danger 
of  being  taken.  Rafaravavy  had  one  day  a 
very  remarkable  escape,  of  which  you  shall 
hear. 

The  day  was  very  cold,  and  she  and  Sarah 
had  ventured  to  stay  at  home.  Sarah  heard 
the  crows  near  the  house  making  a  noise. 
She  thought  they  were  eating  the  rice  which 
had  been  put  before  the  door  to  dry,  and  she 
started  up.  As  soon  as  she  got  outside  the 
door,  she  saw  two  men  with  spears  coming. 
She  turned,  and  in  a  low  voice  w^arned  Rafa- 
ravavy. The  men  were  so  near,  that  she 
could  not  speak  loudly.  Rafaravavy  had  just 
time  to  get  under  a  bedstead,  and  to  cover 
herself  with  a  piece  of  matting.  If  the  crows 
had  not  made  a  noise,  she  must  have  been 
caught. 

Sarah  and  her  husband  sat  down  by  the 
fire-side.  The  two  soldiers  came  in,  and  said 
that  they  had  come  to  search  for  Rafaravavy. 
Andrianilaina  evaded  their  questions  as  well 
as  he  could,  without  telling  a  falsehood.  The 
soldiers  remained  talking  for  about  an  hour. 


RAFARAVAVY  AGAIN.  101 

All  this  while,  Rafaravavy  saw  and  heard 
them  through  the  matting.  At  first  her  heart 
beat,  and  she  breathed  so  hard,  that  she  was 
afraid  they  would  hear  her ;  but  after  a  little 
time  she  committed  herself  to  God,  and  peace 
returned,  as  she  trusted  in  him.  Many  sweet 
passages  of  Scripture  came  to  her  mind,  and 
comforted  her. 

Sarah  quite  gave  her  up :  she  went  out,  and 
w^hom  should  she  see  coming  but  Simeon's 
brother-in-law !  He  came  to  tell  how  Simeon 
had  been  obliged  to  leave  the  capital,  and  was 
waiting  near  the  house,  to  know  whether  he 
could  take  shelter  with  them.  Here  was  an- 
other difficulty.  Sarah  called  Andrianilaina 
out.  The  soldiers  thought  that  perhaps  Rafa- 
ravavy was  on  the  mountain,  and  that  Andri- 
anilaina had  gone  out  to  give  her  warning ; 
so  they  came  out  too,  and  went  to  seek  for 
her  there.  Simeon  was  very  near  being 
caught;  the  soldiers  saw  him,  but  they  thought 
that  he  was  a  man  who  had  just  been  to  the 
house  for  some  money.  As  soon  as  they  were 
gone,  Rafaravavy  made  her  escape.  She 
went  out,  not  knowing  whither  to  go,  and 
saw  the  two  men  at  some  distance.  She 
thought  she  would  go  to  a  village,  whither 
9* 


103  RAFARAVAVy  AGAIN. 

Rafaralahy  had  gone  to  see  some  sick  friends. 
Night  came  on,  and  it  was  very  dark,  and 
the  coarse  long  grass  was  often  higher  than 
her  head,  and  it  was  very  difficult  to  find  her 
way.  She  thought  of  Christian  going  through 
the  valley  of  the  shadow  of  death.  Late  at 
night  she  reached  the  village,  and  found  Ra- 
faralahy, who  got  her  a  lodging  for  the  night. 
Rafaralahy  and  Andrianilaina  were  also 
obliged  to  escape,  as  they  would  soon  have 
been  taken  up  for  hiding  Rafaravavy.  After 
they  had  gone  the  soldiers  returned,  and  they 
came  again  and  again  to  search  the  house  by 
night.  They  found  a  Bible  and  a  Testament. 
A  Christian  friend  gave  up  his  house  to  the 
"wanderers  for  a  little  while,  till  they  found 
that  they  could  no  longer  hide  securely  there. 
Then  they  went  to  another  village  where  an- 
other friend  hid  them  for  a  few  days.  They 
soon  found  this  place  also  unsafe,  and  the  men 
and  women  agreed  to  separate.  Rafaralahy 
and  Andrianilaina  hid  for  some  time  in  a  cave, 
while  one  hundred  soldiers  were  searching  for 
them.  Before  long  they  were  obliged  to  leave 
the  cave,  and  to  seek  some  other  hiding-place. 


RAFARAVAVY  AND  SARAH  PURSUED.  103 

XX. 

RAFARAVAVY  AND  SARAH    PURSUED. 

The  two  women  did  not  know  whither  to  go. 
Sarah  took  Rafaravavy  to  a  friend  of  hers  at 
some  distance.     This  friend  was  very  glad  to 
see  Sarah,  and  she  told  her  that  soldiers  had 
been  there  from  the  capital  seeking  for  "  some 
woman   who    had   run   away."     Sarah   did 
not  tell  her  that  Rafaravavy  was  "  the  wo- 
man."    This  news  made  the  two  friends  very 
uneasy.     They  stayed  the  night,  and  the  next 
morning  set  off  on  their  journey  back  again  to 
the  friends  whom  they  had  left  the  day  before. 
As  they  reached  the  village  in  which  their 
friend  lived,  they  passed  a  house  in  which  they 
heard    many   people   talking.      When    they 
reached  their  friend's  house,  she  could  scarce- 
ly speak  to  them  for  some  time.     At  last  she 
told  them  that  soldiers  were  searching  for 
them  in  every  house,  and  that  some  of  them, 
with  Rafiakarana,  the  accuser  of  Rafaralahy, 
at  their  head,  were  in  the  house  where  they 
heard  the  talking.     "  And  where,"  she  said, 
"shall  I  hide  you   to-night   and  to-morrow 
.morning  r'     After  thinking  a  little,  she  put 


104         RAFARAVAVY  AND  SARAH  PURSUED. 

them  in  a  pit  near  her  house,  and  covered  it 
over  with  thorns  and  briers.  There  they  were 
hid  a  night  and  a  day.  Perhaps  they  thought  of 
the  good  woman  who  hid  the  messengers  of 
king  David  in  a  well,  and  spread  corn  over 
the  top. 

Next  day  they  came  out,  and  their  friend 
hid  them  for  a  few  days  in  a  small  plantation 
of  manioc.  Some  nights  they  slept  between 
large  stones  on  the  river-side,  and  sometimes 
on  the  top  of  a  grave,  the  long  grass  hiding 
them  from  sight.  One  day  Rafiakarana  and 
eight  soldiers  passed  close  by  them,  and  did 
not  see  them.  After  ten  or  twelve  days,  they 
thought  it  was  not  safe  to  stay  longer  in  one 
place,  and  they  set  off  to  another  friend.  The 
wife  of  Rafaralahy  was  now  with  them. 
They  set  out  at  cock-crowing,  and  had  to 
pass  through  a  market-place.  They  sent  a 
lad  on  before  them  to  give  them  a  sign  if  he 
should  see  soldiers  coming.  Just  as  he  reached 
the  top  of  a  hill,  he  saw  twenty  soldiers,  and 
he  made  signs  to  the  women.  Sarah  and  Ra- 
faralahy's  wife  ran  fast,  and  got  out  of  the 
way.  Rafaravavy  was  so  frightened  that  she 
could  scarcely  move.  She  turned  into  a  bog 
close  by,  and  hid  herself  among  the  rushes. 


RAFARAVAVY  AND  SARAH  PURSUED.  105 

She  was  not  quite  hid,  but  the  soldiers  passed 
by  without  seeing  her.  She  had  sunk  so 
deeply  in  the  mud  that  she  could  not  get  out 
alone,  and  what  grieved  her  most  was,  that 
her  dear  Bible  on  her  back  was  being  spoiled 
by  the  mud.  Her  two  friends  came  up,  and 
helped  her  out,  and  then  they  went  on  as  fast 
as  they  could  till  evening,  to  get  out  of  the 
way  of  the  soldiers.  Tired  and  hungry  they 
sat  down  to  rest  awhile,  and  then  fearing  that 
their  friends  would  be  anxious  about  them, 
they  went  on  their  journey  in  the  dark.  It  is 
a  very  different  thing  to  travel  in  the  dark  in 
Madagascar  from  what  it  is  in  England. 
There  are  no  nice,  straight,  broad  roads,  and 
mile-stones,  and  sign-posts ;  no  gas-lights ;  and 
robbers,  and  fierce  men  are  there  in  plenty  to 
frighten  women.  Once  four  men  ran  after  these 
poor  hunted  Christians,  but  they  hid  themselves 
in  the  long  grass  and  escaped.  They  reached 
their  friend's  house,  and  found  Rafaralahy  and 
Andrianilaina  there.  Next  morning,  before 
dawn,  they  started  again,  and  travelled  ten 
miles  to  the  house  of  another  Christian  friend, 
who  was  a  great  man  in  that  district. 

This  kind  friend  had  suffered  much  anxiety 
about  them  for  the  last  fortnight,  knowing 


106  MORE  NARROW  ESCAPES. 

that  so  many  were  seeking  for  them.  When 
he  saw  them  safe  and  well,  he  burst  into  tears. 
He  fixed  a  tent  in  his  manioc  plantations 
where  the  grass  grew  higher  than  the  tent, 
and  took  them  plenty  of  food  every  day. 
Here  they  remained  in  safety  for  three  months. 
Several  of  this  good  man's  family  became 
pious  at  this  time,  and  they  and  many  of  his 
servants  learned  to  read  the  Bible.  The 
Christians  met  in  his  house  on  the  Sabbath. 
Very  dear  must  they  have  been  to  one  another, 
and  very  pleasant  must  those  meetings  have 
been. 


XXI. 

MORE  NARROW  ESCAPES. 

About  this  time  Mr.  Johns  visited  Tamatave. 
He  wished  to  see  the  Christians,  and  if  possi- 
ble, to  lay  some  plan  for  their  rescue.  He 
could  not  write  to  them,  as  he  did  not  know 
where  they  were  hid.  He  therefore  wrote 
letters  to  the  queen,  to  Rainiharo,  and  to  seve- 
ral of  the  officers,  on  purpose  that  his  visit  to 
Tamatave  might  be  talked  about,  and  that  the 
Christians  might  hear  of  it.    Rafaravavy  and 


MORE  NARROW  ESCAPES.  107 

her  friends  did  hear  the  news,  and  so  greatly 
did  they  long  to  see  their  missionary,  that  they 
were  ready  to  run  all  risks  to  get  to  him. 
The  way  lay  through  the  capital,  the  very 
heart  of  danger: — it  was  fifty  miles  to  Tana- 
narivo,  and  two  hundred  miles  further  to 
Tamatave,  but  danger  and  difficulty  could 
not  hinder  them. 

Rafaralahy  was  ill  and  could  not  go.  An- 
drianilaina,  Sarah,  and  Rafaravavy  set  off  to- 
gether. Andrianilaina  and  Sarah  went  first 
in  white  lamhas  as  if  they  were  master  and 
mistress.  Rafaravavy  followed  them  as  their 
servant,  dressed  in  common  rojia  cloth,  and 
with  a  bundle  upon  her  head.  So  they  went  on 
for  three  days.  On  the  third  day,  as  they 
came  within  sight  of  the  capital,  two  or  three 
slaves  overtook  them.  They  knew  Rafara- 
vavy, and  one  of  them  said,  "  You  are  the 
sister  of  Razakamanana,"  which  was  the  name 
of  Rafaravavy's  brother.  Then  the  slaves 
turned  off  to  the  market.  The  Christians  were 
very  much  frightened,  for  they  thought  that 
the  slaves  had  gone  to  tell  the  people.  One 
of  them  did  go  and  tell  Rafaravavy's  old 
master,  but  he  did  not  believe  her.  Perhaps 
he  thought  that  it  could  not  be  Rafaravavy, 


lOS  MORE  NARROW  ESCAPES. 

for  that  she  could  not  be  so  bold  as  to  venture 
again  to  the  place  where  she  had  three  times 
narrowly  escaped  death.  However  it  might 
be,  the  Christians  safely  reached  their  friends, 
and  Rafaravavy  was  hid  in  the  house  of  one 
friend,  and  Sarah  in  that  of  another.  Mean- 
while, Andrianilaina  and  a  friend  went  on  to 
Tamatave,  to  ask  Mr.  Johns  what  they  had 
better  do. 

It  was  very  difficult  to  hide  Rafaravavy,  as 
almost  every  one  knew  her.  One  day,  after 
she  had  been  hid  for  a  fortnight,  fifteen  or 
twenty  men  came  to  search  the  house,  not  for 
her,  but  for  some  other  purpose.  They  tried 
to  push  open  the  door  of  the  place  where  she 
was,  and  found  it  difficuh  to  open.  That  was 
because  Rafaravavy  was  pushing  hard  on  the 
other  side.  The  men  saw  that  the  master  of 
the  house  looked  very  uneasy,  but  they  did 
not  suspect  the  real  reason.  They  thought 
that  he  had  put  his  "  ody  "  or  charms  there, 
and  they  hinted  this  to  him.  He  did  not  think 
that  he  was  obliged  to  correct  their  mistake, 
and  they  went  out  for  a  minute  to  give  him 
time  to  put  his  charms  away.  Then  he  open- 
ed the  door,  and  Rafaravavy  ran  out  at  a  door 
on  the  other  side  of  the  house,  and  climbed 


MORE  NARROW  ESCAPES.  109 

over  a  wall,  and  reached  another  friend's 
house  without  being  caught.  In  less  than  a 
minute  the  men  came  back,  and  went  to  the 
place  where  she  had  been  hid.  Several  Chris- 
tian friends  stood  near,  trembling  for  her. 

Andrianilaina  and  his  friend  reached  Tama- 
tave  safely.  Mr.  Johns  was  very  anxious 
when  he  saw  Andrianilaina,  for  he  did  not 
know  how  to  hide  him.  He  sent  for  an 
officer  named  Ramiandrahasina,  and  told  him 
his  difficulties.  This  kind  friend  took  an 
empty  house  for  Andrianilaina,  and  left  his 
nephew  James  and  a  trusty  servant  to  take 
care  of  him.  He  fixed  a  "  kiady  "  or  order 
that  no  one  should  enter,  over  the  door.  Then 
the  friend  who  had  travelled  with  Andriani- 
laina made  haste  back  to  the  capital  to  fetch 
the  other  Christians.  Mr.  Johns  sent  them 
money  and  directions  how  to  act,  and  ex- 
pressed the  hope  that  there  would  be  a  ship  to 
take  them  all  to  Mauritius  as  soon  as  they 
should  arrive.  Simeon,  David,  and  Joseph, 
had  been  obliged  to  leave  the  forest,  and  had 
reached  the  capital  just  before  this,  so  the 
whole  party  resolved  to  set  off  together. 

Rafaravavy  wished  much  to  see  her  nephew 
Andrjanantoandro  once  more.  He  had  been 
10 


110  MORE  NARROW  ESCAPES. 

in  irons  for  six  months,  ever  since  the  death 
of  Rafaralahy.  She  dressed  herself  hke  a 
slave,  and  went  to  him  after  dark.  The 
soldiers  thought  that  she  was  a  servant  of  one 
of  his  friends  who  used  to  take  rice  to  him. 
He  was  asleep,  and  she  did  not  dare  to  speak, 
lest  the  soldiers  should  know  her  voice.  She 
pressed  his  hand,  and  left  him,  believing  that 
she  should  see  him  no  more.  In  the  morning 
he  heard  of  her  visit,  and  was  deeply  affected. 

RAEARAVAVY'S  VISIT  TO  HER  NEPHEW. 

By  James  Edmeston,  Esq. 
How  like  an  angel  visitant  by  night, 

Did  she  in  silence  mark  the  captive's  sleep ; 
To  give  with  sad  yet  exquisite  delight, 

One  parting  pressure  of  the  hand,  and  weep 

Did  not  a  gentle  dream  then  speak  her  near  ? 

And  sympathy  of  spirit  shed  a  calm? 
Some  wondrous  influence  quiet  every  fear, 

And  breathe  across  the  weary  bosom,  balm? 

That  single  pressure,  and  that  parting  gaze, 
The  last  perchance  on  earth's  dark  shadow  plain, 

Shall  change  to  welcome  !  breathed  amidst  the  blaze 
Of  Heaven's  bright  glories,  when  they  meet  again. 


THE  JOURNEY  TO  TAMATAVE.       Ill 

XXII. 

THE   JOURNEY   TO   TAMATAVE. 

It  was  late  at  night  when  Rafaravavy,  Sarah, 
David,  Simeon,  and  Joseph,  set  out  from  the 
capital.  The  prayers  of  the  Christians  who 
remained  followed  them,  and  many  tears 
were  shed  at  parting.  Two  friends  went 
with  them  as  servants.  One  of  these  servants 
was  to  go  on  before  them,  and  if  he  saw  any 
enemies  coming,  he  was  to  call  out,  "  Fain- 
gana  leyiry,"  "  Make  haste."  This  did  not 
really  mean,  "  make  haste,"  but,  "  Get  out  of 
the  way  as  soon  as  you  can."  The  other  ser- 
vant was  to  go  behind,  and  if  he  saw  any 
following  them,  he  was  to  call  out,  "  Andraso- 
kely,"  "Wait  a  little;"  which  was  to  mean, 
"  Go  on  as  fast  as  possible." 

In  the  morning,  when  about  ten  or  twelv^e 
miles  from  the  capital,  they  met  some  people. 
One  of  these  people  knew  Joseph,  and  looked 
after  him.  The  Christians  turned  into  the 
forest,  that  the  men  might  think  they  were 
going  that  way,  and  when  the  men  were  out 
of  sight,  they  turned  back  into  the  high  road. 
As  they  drew  near  a  village,  they  again  turn- 


112  THE  JOURNEY  TO  TAMATAVE. 

ed  out  of  the  road,  prepared  some  food,  and 
read  Luke  xviii.  They  took  courage,  espe- 
cially from  the  twenty-seventh  verse :  "  The 
things  which  are  impossible  with  men,  are 
possible  with  God."  It  seemed  almost  impos- 
sible that  they  could  go  that  long  and  danger- 
ous journey  without  being  caught,  but  they 
knew  that  it  was  not  impossible  with  God. 
They  went  on  in  the  evening  by  the  light  of  a 
lamp  which  a  friend  had  given  them.  When  it 
was  dark  they  divided,  and  passed  through 
the  village,  hiding  their  lamp  in  their  cooking 
vessels. 

Beyond  the  village  there  was  a  very  steep 
hill  to  go  down.  The  rain  poured,  and  the 
travellers  slipped  at  every  step,  and  were  ob- 
liged to  hold  by  each  others'  hands.  Then 
they  came  to  a  hill  just  as  steep  and  difficult 
to  go  up  as  the  other  had  been  to  go  down. 
They  thought  of  Christian  going  up  the  Hill 
Difficulty,  and  like  him  they  pressed  on  for 
life,  till  they  reached  the  top.  Then  they  had 
to  go  down  again,  and  as  they  went  they  saw 
a  light  at  a  distance.  They  thought  that  per- 
haps one  of  the  queen's  letter-carriers  was 
there,  so  they  put  out  their  light,  and  turned 
out  of  the  road. 


THE  JOURNEY  TO  TAMATAVE.       113 

It  was  midnight,  and  they  lay  down  and 
tried  to  sleep,  but  could  not.  They  had  no 
fire  or  shelter.  The  rain  poured  in  torrents, 
and  they  were  soaked  through.  They  com- 
forted each  other  with  the  thought  of  a  world 
*'  where  the  wicked  cease  from  troubling,  and 
where  the  weary  are  at  rest." 

About  cock-crow,  they  went  on  their  way. 
They  had  much  to  fear  from  this  day's  jour- 
ney. Two  or  three  hundred  soldiers  were 
going  on  before  them  to  Tamatave.  Many 
of  these  soldiers  knew  them  well,  and  the 
Dekana  of  Rainiharo,  and  some  of  the  officers 
who  had  been  in  search  of  Rafaravavy,  were 
with  them.  The  Christians  had  heard  that 
these  soldiers  were  encamping  about  ten  miles 
off,  and  there  was  no  way  except  through  the 
camp.  They  thought  that  it  would  be  the 
best  plan  to  pass  through  them  near  the  dawn 
of  day,  because  as  it  is  colder  then  than  at 
any  other  time,  the  soldiers  would  be  more 
likely  to  be  keeping  closely  in  their  tents. 
They  made  haste  on  to  get  up  to  them  in 
time,  reached  the  place,  and  to  their  joy,  found 
not  a  soldier  there ! 

About  nine  o'clock  they  stopped  to  take 
some  food.  Presently  they  saw  several  men 
10* 


114  THE  JOURNEY  TO  TAMATAVE. 

in  white  lambas  coming  towards  them.  They 
turned  out  of  the  path,  and  the  men  followed 
them,  and  an  instant  after  they  saw  many 
more  turn  out  of  the  path  to  follow  them  too. 
Now  they  felt  sure  that  these  people  were 
pursuing  them.  They  hurried  on  to  a  hollow, 
and  hid  among  the  bushes,  and  the  men  pass- 
ed by.  They  had  not  gone  on  again  far  be- 
fore the  servant  who  went  on  first  called  out^ 
"  Make  haste  there,"  which  meant  "  Turn 
again  into  the  wood."  Thus  they  travelled 
on  till  they  came  to  the  great  Mangoro  river. 

This  river  is  so  full  of  crocodiles  that  it  is 
very  dangerous  to  swim  across  it,  and  there 
is  only  one  canoe  kept  by  government  to  take 
people  over.  The  boatmen  had  just  taken 
some  soldiers  over  when  the  Christian  party 
came  up,  and  thinking  that  they  belonged  to 
the  soldiers  they  took  them  over  without  ask- 
ing any  questions. 

As  the  Christians  drew  near  the  village 
where  the  soldiers  really  were,  they  turned 
aside  to  find  another  path.  It  was  night,  and 
they  lost  their  way,  and  wandered  about, 
thinking  of  Christian's  trouble  when  he  had 
lost  his  certificate.  At  last  they  found  the 
path,  and  went  on  till  they  came  to  some  wide 


THE  JOURNEY  TO  TAMATAVE.       115 

and  deep  water,  with  only  a  high  and  narrow 
plank  across.  Rafaravavy  and  Sarah  lelt 
afraid  of  venturing  on  the  plank,  and  they 
tried  to  find  some  other  way  round  without 
ffoins:  over  the  water,  but  there  was  none. 
They  thought  of  Christian  and  Hopeful  asking 
the  Shining  Ones  if  there  was  no  way  to  the 
Celestial  City  but  through  the  river.  With 
some  trouble  they  got  over  in  safety.  Again 
they  lost  their  way,  and  tired  and  hungry,  with 
neither  sun,  nor  moon,  nor  stars,  nor  guide,  nor 
compass,  they  lay  down  to  watch  for  the 
morning.  They  were  too  cold  to  sleep,  and 
so  weary  that  they  could  scarcely  move  their 
feet.  At  length  morning  broke  in  the  east,  and 
told  them  that  that  was  the  way  they  were  to 
go.  Then  they  thought  of  the  star  which 
guided  the  wise  men  to  the  infant  Saviour. 
They  travelled  several  hours,  and  then  sat 
down  to  rest,  and  to  join  in  prayer  and  praise. 


XXIII. 

THE  JOURNEY  TO  TAMATAVE  CONTINUED. 

The  travellers  had  now  to  go  through  the 
great  forest,  where  it  would  not  be  so  easy  to 


116       THE  JOURNEY  TO  TAMATAVE. 

turn  quickly  out  of  the  way  to  hide.  They 
dressed  Sarah  Hke  an  officer's  wife,  that  it 
might  seem  as  if  she  were  going  to  meet  her 
husband  on  the  coast,  and  Rafaravavy  was 
dressed  as  her  servant,  with  a  straw  hat  and 
a  bundle  on  her  head  to  hide  part  of  her  face. 
Thus  they  went  on  for  four  days.  Once  a 
party  of  soldiers  passed  near  them.  Another 
time  they  met  several  persons  whom  they 
knew,  and  they  covered  their  faces  as  much 
as  they  could.  They  heard  the  persons  whom 
they  met  say,  "  These  people  are  ill  of  the 
small-pox;  that  is  why  they  cover  their 
faces."  Another  time  they  met  a  party  of 
traders,  who  knew  Simeon  and  saluted  him. 
When  the  traders  had  passed,  one  of  the  ser- 
vants lagged  behind  and  listened  to  what  they 
were  saying.  One  of  them  said,  "  That  is 
Andrianomanana  (Simeon)  who  was  sold  to 
Rainiharo  on  account  of  his  religion.  Where 
can  he  be  going  now?'  The  other  said, 
"  Most  likely  Rainiharo  has  sent  him  to  sell 
goods  on  the  coast." 

A  little  further  on  two  men  overtook  the 
Christians,  and  asked  questions  as  if  they  sus- 
pected them.  The  Christians  sat  down  as  if 
tired,  hoping  to  get  rid  of  them,  and  the  men 


THE  JOURNEY  TO  TAMATAVE.       117 

sat  down  too.  They  turned  aside  to  a  village 
to  rest  for  the  night,  and  the  men  turned  also. 
Then  they  said  that  they  had  altered  their 
minds,  and  should  go  on  to  the  next  village, 
and  presently  they  sav^  the  men  following 
them.  These  men  kept  dodging  them,  and 
frightening  them  for  two  or  three  days. 

The  fifth  night  of  their  journey  the  party 
rested  in  a  village.  The  next  morning  Rafa- 
ravavy  was  near  being  caught  by  a  party  of 
soldiers:  she  had  only  just  time  to  turn  out  of 
the  way.  Another  party  of  soldiers  passed 
by,  and  did  not  observe  the  wanderers. 

That  night  (the  6th)  they  came  to  a  village 
where  was  a  dekana,  who  knew  them  well, 
and  they  could  find  no  other  w^ay  than  going 
through  the  village.  A  number  of  the  people 
were  sitting  out  in  the  middle,  and  the  two 
troublesome  men  and  another  man  who  knew 
Rafaravavy  were  among  them.  The  Chris- 
tians tried  to  pass  on,  but  the  people  cried  out, 
"  Where  are  you  going  so  dark  a  night  as 
this  ?  Why  not  sleep  in  the  village  as  others 
do  ]"  They  answered,  "  We  intended  to  go 
forward  to  the  village  before  us."  "  Is  there 
no  food  with  us  1"  said  the  people.  "  Stop 
here  as  other  people  do."     So  the  Christians 


118  THE  JOURNEY  TO  TAMATAVE. 

were  obliged  to  stop,  lest  it  should  seem  as  ii 
they  were  afraid.  They  turned  into  a  house, 
and  it  happened  to  be  the  very  next  to  the 
one  in  which  the  dekana  lived.  Rafaravavy 
lay  down  and  covered  herself  with  a  lamba 
as  if  she  did  not  feel  well.  The  two  men 
came  in  and  left  their  packages  under  the  care 
of  the  Christians,  and  went  out.  The  friends 
thought  that  they  had  gone  to  fetch  the 
soldiers  to  take  them  up,  and  they  prayed  ear- 
nestly to  God  that  he  would  shut  the  mouths 
of  these  men.  Soon  the  men  fetched  away 
their  packages,  and  went  to  another  house. 
This  was  the  sixth  night. 

At  cock-crow,  the  Christians  went  on  their 
way  again  as  fast  as  possible.  They  sat 
down  to  take  some  rice.  The  two  men  came 
up  and  sat  down  too,  but  would  not  take  any 
rice  with  them,  which  looked  the  more  suspi- 
cious. The  men  went  on  first  and  placed  a 
large  leaf  in  the  road.  The  friends  could  not 
tell  what  that  was  for ;  they  thought  that  it 
might  be  a  signal  to  some  of  their  enemies  to 
follow  them,  so  they  threw  the  leaf  away. 

In  the  evening  they  came  to  a  village  which 
was  almost  empty,  the  people  having  gone  to 
do  work   for  government.      The  travellers 


THE  JOURNEY  TO  TAMATAVE.       119 

went  into  an  empty  house,  and  for  the  first 
night  since  leaving  the  capital  they  slept  in 
peace.  How  sweet  to  them  were  these  few 
hours  of  safety  and  repose  !  They  called  the 
house  "  The  Porter's  Lodge."  In  the  morn- 
ing, being  very  tired  with  so  many  days' 
walking,  they  tried  to  get  a  canoe  to  take 
them  the  rest  of  the  way  by  w-ater,  but  they 
had  not  enough  money,  and  were  obliged  to 
go  on  by  land.  That  evening  they  saw  the 
two  men  again,  and  waited  till  they  had  pass- 
ed. They  went  on  along  the  beach  that  night 
to  keep  out  of  the  way  of  the  government 
letter-carriers.  They  rested  a  little  in  the 
morning,  and  journeyed  on  through  the  day. 
At  dark  they  rested  again,  and  started  long 
before  daybreak. 

They  were  now  drawing  near  the  end  of 
their  journey.  Their  feet  were  so  swollen 
that  they  could  scarcely  move,  and  some 
could  not  keep  up  with  the  rest.  The  risk  of 
being  taken  was  greater  at  every  step.  They 
sat  down  in  the  jungle,  and  sent  on  the  two 
servants  to  their  friends  at  Tamatave.  Their 
rice  was  gone,  and  they  were  a  day  and  a 
night  quite  without  food.  They  then  recol- 
lected some  stale  fat  which  they  had  brought 


120  THE  JOURNEY  TO  TAMATAVE. 

with  them  for  their  lamp,  and  they  boiled  it 
and  ate  it  with  thankfulness.  Next  morning 
the  servants  came  back  with  many  kind  words 
of  encouragement  from  their  friend  at  Tama- 
tave.  His  orders  were,  "  Go  back  and  take 
them  to  such  a  place,  and  leave  them  there ; 
then  come  and  tell  me,  and  I  will  take  my 
canoe  and  carry  them  across  the  lake  after 
dark.  This  is  a  dangerous  place ;  there  are 
many  soldiers  here  guarding  every  spot.  Tell 
them  to  take  courage,  and  I  will  do  all  I  can 
for  them,  and  as  long  as  I  am  safe  they  will 
be  safe."  The  servants  brought  some  rice, 
of  which  the  party  were  very  glad,  as  they 
had  now  been  nearly  three  days  without  any- 
thing but  the  fat  to  eat. 

They  went  to  the  meeting-place  at  sunset; 
a  man  in  a  canoe  came  up :  they  thought  it 
was  the  canoe  for  them,  and  in  their  joy  had 
nearly  discovered  themselves.  Soon  after  the 
right  canoe  came,  and  they  were  safely  taken 
to  their  friend's  house.  O  how  joyful  and 
grateful  they  felt  when  they  found  themselves 
there  !  They  read  John  xvi.,  and  even  ven- 
tured to  sing  a  hymn  in  a  low  tone.  Ramian- 
drahasina  told  them  of  the  ship  which  was  to 
come  in  ten  days.     He  gave  them  food,  and 


THE  JOTTENEY  TO  TAMATAVE.  121 

left  his  nephew  James  with  them  to  wait  upon 
them,  and  to  take  care  of  them. 

They  had  yet  two  more  narrow  escapes. 
One  night  Ramiandrahasina  sent  a  person  to 
fetch  something  from  the  house  where  they 
were.  The  man  misunderstood,  and  thought 
that  he  was  to  fetch  them.  They  went  down 
close  to  the  port.  A  heavy  shower  of  rain 
came  on  just  at  the  time,  and  drove  the  guards 
into  the  guard-house.  If  it  had  not  been  for 
this  shower  of  rain,  the  Christians  must  have 
been  caught.  Ramiandrahasina  was  very 
much  frightened  when  they  reached  his  house. 
He  had  no  place  to  hide  them  in,  and  he  was 
obliged  to  take  them  back  again.  He  told 
them  not  to  speak,  and  that  he  would  answer 
for  them.  As  they  went  back,  the  guards 
came  round  them,  and  asked  them  whither 
they  w^ere  going.  Ramiandrahasina  answer- 
ed that  "  he  and  his  friends  were  going  to  his 
country-house  on  business."  As  he  was  a 
great  man,  they  let  him  and  the  party  pass, 
and  they  safely  reached  their  resting-place. 

Mr.  Johns  had  been  at  Tamatave,  and  made 
arrangement  for  the  Christians  to  come  there. 
Then  to  avoid  creating  suspicion  by  remain- 
ing too  long,  he  sailed  for  the  Mauritius,  and 
11 


122  THE  JOURNEY  TO  T AM AT AVE. 

made  an  agreement  with  a  captain  there  to 
bring  away  the  refugees  from  Madagascar, 
and  some  kind  Christian  friends  in  Mauritius 
helped  to  pay  the  money  for  their  passage. 

In  a  few  days  the  ship  arrived.  Ramian- 
drahasina  sent  the  refugees  word  to  cut  their 
hair,  and  to  go  and  wait  for  him  in  the  jungle. 
He  and  some  other  friends  came  to  them  and 
brought  them  each  a  suit  of  sailors'  clothes 
to  put  on.  Then  one  of  their  friends  went  to 
the  guards  to  amuse  them  with  some  tales, 
while  the  others  took  the  Christians  privately 
on  board.  The  ship  weighed  anchor,  and  as 
they  sailed  away  the  captain  said  to  them  in 
Malagasy  "Efa  Kabary,"  which  means, 
"  The  business  is  over,"  "  All  is  safe."  Then 
they  asked  his  leave  to  join  in  a  song  of 
praise.  How  they  felt,  dear  young  friends,  I 
leave  you  to  imagine ;  I  cannot  attempt  to  tell 
you. 

THE  EMBARKATION  OF  THE  REFUGEES. 

Hark !  o'er  the  waves  a  sound 

Of  hallowed  minstrelsy, 
Waking  the  slumbering  echoes  round 

With  its  deep  melody, 
Now  loudly  pealing  o'er  the  seas, 
Nov7  softly  dying  on  the  breeze. 


THE  JOURNEY  TO  TAMATAVE.       123 

Whence  is  that  music's  tone? 

See  ye  across  the  tide, 
While  brightly  gleams  the  morning  sun, 

A  stately  vessel  glide  ? 
She  robs  the  spoiler  of  his  prey, 
She  bears  the  rescued  ones  away 

Wandering  in  deserts  wild, 

Or  on  the  mountain's  crest, 
'  Mid  caves  where  sun-light  never  smiled, 

Tormented  and  oppressed,* 
Yet  did  faith's  calm  and  stedfast  light 
Burn  brightly  through  the  darksome  night. 

And  now  that  night  grows  pale, 

'  Tis  freedom's  blessed  day ; 
Hark  !  they  are  singing  as  they  sail. 

O'er  the  blue  waves  away ; 
Weary  and  faint,  yet  "  safe"  they  raise, 
Unfeanng  now,  their  song  of  praise  ! 

But,  who  their  thoughts  may  know  ? 

Earth  still  hath  tender  ties. 
And  tears  of  mingled  joy  and  woe 

May  well  bedim  their  eyes. 
Who  mourn  the  martyrs'  cruel  death, 
Yet  share  their  calm  unswerving  faith ; 
Who  leave  their  own  beloved  land, 
Suffering,  yet  in  a  Father's  hand. 

E.  M.  I. 
Manchester. 

Heb.  xi.  37,  38. 


124  A  WELCOME  IN  SOUTH  AFRICA. 

XXIV. 

A  WELCOME  IN  SOUTH  AFRICA. 

The  exiles  reached  Port  Louis  in  Mauritius, 
October  14th,  1838,  and  were  most  kindly  re- 
ceived by  the  Christian  people  in  that  island. 
Ramiandrahasina  and  James  arrived  there  in 
November.  They  were  now  eight  in  number, 
and  on  the  2nd  of  December,  six  of  them  set 
sail  for  South  Africa  on  their  way  to  England. 
Rafaravavy,  Sarah,  Simeon,  David,  Joseph, 
James  and  Mr.  Johns,  made  up  the  party. 
Andrianilaina  had  thought  of  a  plan  for  re- 
scuing his  persecuted  brethren,  and  chose  to 
be  left  behind.  He  wished  Sarah  his  wife  to 
go  with  Rafaravavy  to  England,  that  she 
might  get  useful  knowledge  there,  and  teach 
him  when  she  came  back.  Ramiandrahasina 
remained  with  Mr.  Baker. 

At  Algoa  Bay,  the  Christians  saw  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Chick,  and  Mr.  Kitching,  who  had  lived 
a  long  time  in  Madagascar.  At  Port  Eliza- 
beth, the  Hottentot  Christians  showed  them 
much  kindness.  The  Hottentots  generally 
speak  the  Dutch  language,  though  it  is  not 
their  own  original  language.     They  found  a 


A  WELCOME  IN  SOUTH  AFRICA. 


125 


man  who  could  speak  both  Dutch  and  iMala- 
gasy,  and  tried  to  talk  tp  their  visiters  through 
him  as  an  interpreter,  but  he  felt  no  interest 
in  religious  subjects,  and  could  not  explain 
their  feelings.  Then  they  found  out  another 
way  to  converse  with  each  other.  It  was 
through  their  Bibles.  They  each  turned  to 
the  same  passage  in  the  Dutch  and  Malagasy 
Bibles,  Gen.  xi.  1st  to  7th  verse,  which  tells 
of  the  confusion  of  languages  at  Babel.  Then 
the  Hottentots  begged  their  interpreter  to  say 
for  them,  how  much  they  were  grieved  that 
they  could  not  converse  with  their  Malagasy 
friends,  for  their  hearts  were  full  of  love  to 
them.  "  Do  not  fear,"  said  they,  "  you  are 
now  among  friends  !  Our  fathers  were  once 
cruel  and  savage,  murdering  strangers,  and 
devouring  them  ;  but  God  has  had  compassion 
on  us,  and  has  sent  us  missionaries  who  have 
taught  us  concerning  Jesus  Christ."  They 
asked  their  friends  to  read  Eph.  ii.  2 — 5. 
"  Among  whom  we  all  had  our  conversation 
in  times  past."  &c.  The  Malagasy  were  de- 
lighted, and  in  their  turn  pointed  to  the  14th 
and  15th  verses,  "  For  he  is  our  peace,  who 
hath  made  both  one,  and  hath  broken  down 
the  middle  wall  of  partition;"  &c.,  and  to 
11* 


126  A  WELCOME  IN   SOUTH  AFRICA. 

Gal.  iii.  28th,  "  Ye  are  all  one  in  Christ 
Jesus." 

Another  time  the  Hottentots  came  and 
pointed  to  John  xvi.  33.  "  In  the  world  ye 
shall  have  tribulation,"  &c.,  also  to  2  Tim.  iii. 
12  ;  Acts  xiv.  22 ;  and  the  Malagasy  answered 
by  turning  to  Rom.  viii.  35  to  39.  "  Who 
shall  separate  us  from  the  love  of  Christ? 
Shall  tribulation,  or  distress,  or  persecution  I" 
&c. 

When  these  dear  though  newly  found 
friends  were  about  to  part,  they  joined  in  sing- 
ing a  hymn.  They  could  not  sing  the  same 
hymn  because  their  languages  were  different, 
but  the  tune  was  the  same.  The  poor  Hot- 
tentots made  a  little  collection  among  them- 
selves to  help  in  paying  the  expenses  of  the 
voyage  to  England.  They  went  down  to- 
gether to  the  beach,  and  while  they  waited  for 
the  boat  which  was  to  take  the  refugees  to 
the  ship,  they  knelt  and  commended  each 
other  to  God,  and  parted  with  warm  affection 
and  with  many  tears. 


A  WELCOME  IN  SOUTH  AFRICA.  127 


THE  MEETING  OF  THE  HOTTENTOTS  AND 
THE  MALAGASY. 

Though  on  the  wide  world  rests  the  curse  by  God 
spoken, 

"When  He  scattered  the  nations  by  Babel's  proud  wall, 
One  bright  bond  of  union  remaineth  unbroken, 

The  language  of  Canaan  speaks  sweetly  to  all. 

From  the  isles  on  whose  strand  rolls  the  dark  Southern 
Ocean, 

The  strangers  sought  refuge  on  Africa's  shore ; 
And  the  soft  tones  of  love  and  the  heart's  deep  devotion, 

Blend  sweetly  in  tones  which  ne'er  mingled  before. 

All  one  in  Christ  Jesus,  one  home  they  are  seeking, 
And  gladly  the  pilgrims  converse  by  the  way ; 

The  children  of  God, — of  His  love  they  are  speaking. 
And  "  the  wall  of  partition  "  is  broken  away. 

How  precious  that  volume  of  blest  inspiration. 
Which  teaches  the  strangers  the  language  of  love ! 

Oh  !  wide  let  us  spread  it,  till  each  distant  nation 
On  earth  learn  the  tones  which  are  spoken  above. 

E.  M.  I. 
J^Ianchester. 

The  refugees  next  touched  at  the  Cape,  and 
were  as  kindly  welcomed  there  as  at  other 
places.  There,  too,  they  saw  Mr.  Cameron, 
another  missionary  artisan,  from  Madagascar. 
A  few  days  before  they  left.  Dr.  Philip  spent 
an  afternoon  with  them,  and  gave  them  much 


128  A  WELCOME  IN  ENGLAND. 

good  advice.  Perhaps  he  feared  that  from  so 
much  kindness  and  attention,  their  hearts 
might  be  lifted  up,  and  that  they  might  grow 
proud  and  self-indulgent.  They  were  very 
thankful  for  his  kind  advice ;  and  when  they 
reached  their  lodgings,  they  wrote  down  all 
that  they  could  remember,  and  each  kept  a 
copy,  and  read  it  often. 


XXV. 


A  WELCOME  IN  ENGLAND. 


In  May  1839,  the  Malagasy  Christians  reach- 
ed England.  A  meeting  was  held  in  Exeter- 
hall,  on  Tuesday,  the  4th  of  June,  to  bid  them 
welcome  to  this  happy  land.  The  hall  was 
crowded.  The  six  refugees  were  in  front  of 
the  platform,  in  their  white  lambas,  and  they 
rose  and  answered  questions  put  to  them  in 
their  own  language  by  Mr.  Freeman.  They 
were  afterwards  taken,  one  or  two  at  a  time, 
to  many  other  meetings,  in  different  parts 
of  England,  as  well  as  in  Scotland  and 
Wales.  They  were  very  much  surprised  with 
all  that  they  saw,  and  wished  very  much  that 
iheir  own  dear  country  might  become  as 


A  WELCOME  IN  ENGLAND.  129 

happy  as  England.  They  were  very  grate- 
ful for  all  the  kindness  shown  to  them ;  and 
before  they  could  say  so  in  words,  would  ex- 
press their  thanks  with  a  bright  smile.  They 
did  not  seem  at  all  puffed  up  by  the  attentions 
paid  to  them.  They  believed  that  the  Chris- 
tians of  England  loved  them  for  the  sake  of 
Jesus ;  not  for  any  great  merit  in  themselves ; 
so  it  did  not  make  them  proud. 

Perhaps  you  will  suppose  that  they  w^ere 
now  perfectly  happy,  but  think  how  many  sad 
and  anxious  thoughts  must  at  times  have  filled 
their  minds  about  their  dear  suffering  friends 
in  Madagascar.  There  Simeon  and  David 
and  Joseph  had  left  their  wives,  and  Rafara- 
vavy  her  husband  and  her  daughter.  Parents, 
and  brothers  and  sisters,  too,  were  there,  and 
friends  as  dear  to  them  as  these  for  Jesus' 
sake.  How  anxiously  they  must  have  looked 
for  letters ;  and  yet,  with  what  a  trembling 
hand  they  must  have  opened  them,  fearing  to 
find  sad  news  therein.  Their  friends  at  Wal- 
thamstow  purchased  a  printing-press  for  their 
use,  and  they  soon  employed  it  to  print  a  letter 
to  their  friends  in  Madagascar,  that  they 
might  send  copies  to  many.  The  letter  was 
quite   their  own  writing.     You  shall   see  a 


130  A  WELCOME  IN  ENGLAND. 

little  of  what  they  say.     After  telling  how 
many  friends  they  have  found  in  England,  and 
what  a  favoured  land  England  is,  they  say, 
"  Although  we  are  thus  happy,  in  the  enjoy- 
ment of  many  mercies  in  this  land,  yet  our 
hearts  are  full  of  grief  and  sighing,  when  we 
remember  you,  with  whom  we  often  united  in 
prayer  and  praise,  and  who  are  still  enduring 
persecution.     Dear  friends,  we  cannot  forget 
you :  we  are  partakers  of  your  sorrows,  and 
sympathize    with    you    in    your    afflictions. 
When  we    heard   of   your  enduring    cruel 
scourgings,  we  felt  as  if  we  also  had  been 
scourged  with  you.    When  we  heard  of  your 
being  subjected  to  hard  and  cruel  labour,  we 
felt  as  if  we  were  under  your  burdens.   When 
we  heard  of  your  being  compelled  to  leave 
your  houses,  and,  without  any  settled  abode, 
wandering   about  in   the   wilderness,   hiding 
yourselves  in  dens  and  caves  of  the  earth, 
exposed  to  the  heat  of  the  sun  by  day,  and 
the  cold  air  of  the  night,  we  felt  as  if  we  were 
with  you  in  all  your  journeys,  and  taking  a 
part  in  all  your  troubles." 

Then  they  go  on  to  tell  their  friends,  that 
they  had  sometimes  spent  a  whole  day  in  fast- 
ing and  prayer  on  their  behalf,  and  particu- 


A  WELCOME  IN  ENGLAND.  131 

larly  for  the  queen,  that  God  would  change 
her  heart.  They  say, "  we  feel  no  resentment, 
only  pity.  We  cry  to  God,  if  it  be  his  will  to 
cause  us  and  our  persecutors  to  inherit  to- 
gether eternal  life,  as  Saul  and  Stephen  are 
now  in  heaven." 

Then  they  add  many  words  of  encourage- 
ment. "  Be  strong,  beloved  friends,  and  do 
not  be  discouraged ;  these  afflictions  will  not 
last  long ;  better  days  are  at  hand.  If  you 
should  not  be  delivered  from  them  while  you 
continue  in  this  world,  in  Heaven  you  will  bo 
free  from  them  all.  And  in  all  your  wander- 
ings and  afflictions  be  not  discouraged,  for 
God  is  the  Rock  of  ages ;  upon  him  you  can 
stand  firm ;  he  is  a  pillar,  on  him  you  can 
lean  without  fear ;  he  is  a  shield  and  a  strong- 
hold for  you,  and  his  word  is  a  lamp  to  your 
feet ;  wait  for  him  and  trust  in  him,  and  he 
will  uphold  you  with  the  right  hand  of  his 
righteousness.  He  shall  cover  you  with  his 
feathers,  and  under  his  wings  shall  you  trust. 
He  will  gather  you  as  a  hen  gathereth  her 
chickens  under  her  wings ;  he  will  increase 
your  strength,  and  will  guide  you  even  to 
death." 

Rafaravavy  and  Sarah  remained  with  jNIrs. 


132  A  WELCOME  IN  ENGLAND. 

Johns,  and  had  lessons  every  day.  David 
was  placed  w^ith  a  minister,  Joseph  went  to 
school  at  Walthamstow,  and  James  to  the 
school  in  the  Borough-road,  to  learn  to  be 
teachers  to  their  countrymen.  These  three 
young  men  learned  to  speak  English  very 
well  before  they  left  England.  At  first,  as 
you  may  suppose,  they  sometimes  made 
rather  curious  mistakes.  You  shall  hear  of 
one  that  Joseph  made.  When  he  had  only 
been  a  short  time  in  England,  he  went  to 
Bristol  to  attend  some  meetings,  and  was 
taken  ill  of  small-pox.  The  good  woman  who 
nursed  him  wished  to  give  him  something  to 
remember  her,  and  she  offered  him  the  only 
thing  she  had  that  was  likely  to  be  useful  to 
him — a  steel  pen,  Joseph  had  learned  the 
word  steal,  and  when  the  good  woman  said, 
"  a  steel  pen,"  he  thought  from  the  sound  that 
it  was  the  same  word,  and  that  she  had  stolen 
the  pen.  He  shook  his  head  and  drew  back 
quite  shocked,  and  nurse  could  not  persuade 
him  to  take  it.  As  she  could  not  imagine  why 
he  would  not  accept  her  present,  she  felt  very 
much  hurt.  No  missionary  was  by  to  ex- 
plain, and  it  was  not  till  months  after  that 
Joseph  found  out  his  mistake.     It  was  a  joke 


MORE  MARTYRS  IN  MADAGASCAR.     133 

against  him  for  some  time.  I  do  not  know 
whether  poor  nurse  heard  the  explanation.  If 
not,  perhaps  she  may  see  it  in  this  Uttle  book. 
Simeon  was  very  anxious  about  his  wife, 
whom  he  had  left  in  Madagascar.  What  he 
had  himself  suffered,  with  the  thought  of  what 
his  dear  friends  were  suffering  still,  was  quite 
too  much  for  him,  and  his  spirits  sank.  Mr. 
Johns  left  England,  August  16,  1840,  to  try 
to  rescue  some  more  of  the  Christians,  and  he 
took  Simeon  with  him  to  Mauritius,  hoping 
that  the  change  would  do  him  good. 


XXVI. 

MORE  MARTYRS  IN  MADAGASCAR. 

You  will  wish  to  hear  a  little  of  what  was 
passing  in  Madagascar  all  this  while. 

A  Christian  woman,  of  the  name  of  Rava- 
hiny,  was  taken  up  at  the  time  of  Rafaralahy's 
martyrdom,  and  may  be  called  the  third 
martyr  of  Madagascar.  Her  husband  sepa- 
rated from  her,  her  father  shut  his  door  against 
her,  she  was  sold  into  slavery,  put  to  the 
ordeal,  and  died. 

About  the  time  that  the  refugees  sailed  from 
12 


134     MORE  MARTYRS  IN  MADAGASCAR. 

Tamatave,  three  more  women  were  accused 
of  meeting  for  prayer.  These  were  Raza- 
naka,  the  wife  of  Simeon;  Raminahy,  the 
•wife  of  David ;  and  Ratsaramiarana.  Rami- 
nahy and  Razanaka  escaped  to  a  desert  part. 
Ratsaramiarana  was  scourged  till  she  swoon- 
ed, to  make  her  tell  the  names  of  her  com- 
panions, which  she  still  nobly  refused  to  do. 
She  was  sold  into  slavery,  and  ordered  to  take 
the  tangena,  but  contrived  to  escape. 

In  1840,  persecution  broke  out  again,  and 
sixteen  more  Christians,  who  had  been  hiding 
themselves  for  nearly  two  years,  were  caught 
as  they  were  on  their  way  to  Tamatave,  try- 
ing to  escape  to  Mauritius.  For  three  days 
they  were  brought  before  the  judge  and  ques- 
tioned. On  the  third  day,  they  resolved  boldly 
to  speak  the  whole  truth;  and  they  said, 
*'  Since  you  ask  us  again  and  again,  we  will 
tell  you.  We  are  not  banditti  nor  murderers 
— we  are  praying  people ;  and  if  this  make  us 
guilty  in  the  kingdom  of  the  queen,  we  submit 
to  suffer."  "  Is  this,  then,"  said  the  examiner, 
"  your  final  reply,  whether  for  life  or  death?" 
<'  It  is  our  final  reply,"  said  the  Christians, 
"  whether  for  life  or  death."  "  Who  sent  you 
from  Tananarive  ?"  said  the  examiner.    "  No 


Sarah's  illness  and  death.  J  35 

one,"  they  answered,  "  we  went  forth  of  our 
own  free  will." 

After  the  Christians  had  thus  openly  con- 
fessed Christ,  they  were  filled  with  peace  and 
joy.  They  said  to  one  another,  "  Now  we 
are  like  Christian,  and  Faithful,  when  they 
were  led  to  the  city  of  Vanity  Fair."  Nine 
of  them  were  led  out  and  speared  to  death. 
Paul  and  his  wife,  and  Joshua  and  his  wife 
w^ere  among  them ;  also  David's  wife  Rami- 
nahy,  who  had  escaped  once,  and  had  now 
been  taken  up  again.  How  she  must  have 
longed  to  see  her  dear  husband  once  more, 
and  how  he  must  have  felt  when  the 
news  reached  him  of  her  death!  Simeon's 
wife  also  died  before  he  reached  Mauritius, 
but  not  by  martyrdom.     She  had  been  ill  a 

long  time. 

The  nine  Christians  who  were  speared, 
were  some  of  those  whom  Mr.  Johns  had 
hoped  to  rescue. 


XXVII. 

SARAH'S  ILLNESS  AND  DEATH. 

Sarah's  health  had  been  declining  for  some 
time  before  Mr.  Johns  and  Simeon  left  Eng- 


136  Sarah's  illness  and  death. 

land,  and  there  were  thoughts  of  sending  her 
also  to  Mauritius,  but  before  the  time  came 
she  was  too  ill  to  be  moved,  and  she  saw  An- 
drianilaina  no  more.  Her  mind  was  in  per- 
fect peace — in  simple  repose  upon  her  Savi- 
our's love,  and  she  had  no  fear  of  death.  She 
loved  the  Scriptures  and  prayer.  Before  her 
illness,  she  would  sometimes  join  with  Rafa- 
ravavy  in  spending  a  whole  day  in  their  own 
room,  in  prayer  for  their  country.  A  few 
weeks  before  she  died,  she  heard  of  the 
martyrdom  of  her  friends  in  Madagascar,  and 
she  spoke  with  much  delight  of  her  hope  of 
soon  meeting  them  in  glory.  She  wept  much 
to  think  what  Mr.  Johns's  disappointment 
would  be  when  he  reached  Madagascar,  and 
found  that  he  was  too  late.  She  spoke  of 
her  husband  also.  A  few  days  before  her 
death,  she  tried  to  thank  the  friends  who  had 
been  kind  to  her  in  her  illness.  When  faint- 
ing in  death,  she  said  in  Malagasy,  "  Jesus, 
Jesus,  thou  art  now  taking  me."  Her  breath- 
ing became  shorter  and  shorter;  she  turned 
her  head  and  smiled  on  a  friend  who  was 
kindly  watching  her,  and  gently  "  fell  asleep." 
She  died  at  Walthamstow,  on  the  2C)th  of 


LETTER  FROM  SHAGDUR.         137 

December  1840,  being  twenty-two  years  of 
age. 


XXVIII. 

LETTER  FROM  SHAGDUR. 

The  four  remaining  Christians  could  not  re- 
turn to  Madagascar,  for  the  punishment  for 
only  leaving  the  country,  without  the  queen's 
leave,  was  to  be  burnt  alive.  But  there  are  a 
great  many  Malagasy  living  in  Mauritius, 
and  it  was  thought  that  the  Christians  could 
be  very  useful  as  teachers  among  them,  till 
there  should  be  some  change  in  Madagascar. 
They,  therefore,  prepared  to  leave  England 
with  Mrs.  Johns  in  1841.  I  must  tell  you  of 
a  letter  that  came  to  them  before  they  left. 

This  letter  was  not  from  Madagascar,  nor 
from  any  country  which  the  Malagasy  had 
visited,  nor  from  any  person  whom  they  had 
ever  seen.  It  came  from  a  country  far  dis- 
tant both  from  England  and  from  Madagas- 
car, where  the  people  speak  a  strange  lan- 
guage and  are  for  the  most  part  in  heathen 
darkness.  Thither  missionaries  have  carried 
the  gospel,  and  there,  as  in  Madagascar,  a 
12* 


138         LETTER  FROM  SHAGDUR. 

little  band  of  Christians  have  gathered,  and 
from  them  as  from  the  Christians  of  Mada- 
gascar, the  missionaries  have  been  driven 
av^ray.  The  name  of  that  country  is  Siberia, 
and  the  people  are  Mongol-Buriats.  The 
country  is  cold,  but  the  hearts  of  the  Chris- 
tians there  are  as  warm  as  are  the  hearts  of 
those  who  come  from  the  sunny  isle  of  Mada- 
gascar. These  are  some  of  the  words  of 
Shagdur,  the  Siberian  convert,  to  the  Mala- 
gasy refugees : — 

"  Dearly  beloved  Friends,  and  Brethren 
IN  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ, — I  send  you  a  salu- 
tation of  peace.  I  am  a  Mongol-Buriat  of 
the  Chorina  tribe,  living  in  Siberia,  towards 
the  rising  of  the  sun ;  and  my  dwelling  is  on 
the  south  side  of  the  Ona  river  which  flows 
Westward,  close  by  the  house  of  our  mission- 
ary, Mr.  Swan. 

"  I  have  heard  from  my  teachers  concern- 
ing you,  beloved  ones,  and  of  your  having 
gone  to  reside  in  England.  I  have  heard 
also  about  your  queen  having  put  grievous 
hindrances  in  the  way  of  Christ's  precious 
and  joy-giving  salvation.  It  was  painful  for 
me  to  hear  of  my  dear  brethren  in  the  faith 


LETTER  FROM  SHAGDUR.         139 

of  Christ's  blessed  name  suffering  trouble. 
We,  with  our  teachers  Mr.  Swan  and  j\Ir. 
Stallybrass,  pray  for  you.  One  Sabbath  even- 
ing, Mr.  and  Mrs.  Swan  told  us  all  about  you; 
and  more  than  that  they  showed  us  your  por- 
traits in  a  book,  and  knowing  your  circum- 
stances, I  wished  to  write  to  you  and  to  say 
*  Mender  anoz'  (health  and  peace)  great  health 
and  peace  to  you  all.  Is  not  this  our  Lord's 
command,  '  Love  one  another  V  Although 
"we  are  far  scattered,  is  not  the  Lord  our  God 
always  near  us,  and  watching  over  us  ? 

"  Ah !  beloved  ones,  at  the  time  of  my  writ- 
ing this  letter  I  am  in  great  trouble.  I  will 
tell  you  of  it.  It  is  now  Thursday.  Next  Sab- 
bath will  be  our  last  day.  I  cannot  write  at 
large,  but  the  holy  work  of  God  is  here 
brought  to  an  end.  It  is  very  grievous. 
Christ's  dear  word  was  preached  to  us  every 
day.  There  was  daily  prayer,  and  there  were 
boys  and  girls  at  school.  God's  holy  word 
was  translated  and  printed  and  distributed  to 
many  people,  and  I  also  went  about  distribu- 
ting the  books  to  many  of  my  brethren,  and 
conversed  with  them.  But  our  joy  and  de- 
light are  ended ;  the  missionaries  with  their 
families  are  all  about  to  leave  us,  and  I  ai  i 


140         LETTER  FROM  SHAGDUR. 

my  few  friends  are  to  be  forsaken  in  this 
great  and  frightful  valley  of  destruction.  Ah! 
you  believers  in  Christ  have  experienced  v^hat 
it  is  to  see  your  dear  missionaries  who  had 
come  to  reside  in  your  country,  returning  to 
their  native  land. — Dear  friends,  we  being 
fellow  sufferers,  let  us  pray  for  each  other  in 
the  presence  of  God  our  Comforter.  When 
the  heart  and  soul  trust  in  God  there  is  peace, 
and  yet  to  our  weak  flesh,  separations  are 
very  painful,  very  heavy.  Ah!  there  is  no 
famine  to  be  compared  to  a  famine  of  the 
word,  yet  great  is  his  mercy,  and  all  power 
over  heaven  and  earth  being  given  to  Christ, 
nothing  can  happen  without  his  permission. 
May  the  shut  door  in  your  country,  as  well  as 
in  ours,  be  soon  opened." 

"  I  would  write  a  word  about  the  false  reli- 
gion of  this  country.  Our  people  say  there 
are  gods  without  number;  they  say  too  that 
let  men's  sins  be  very  many,  and  let  them  die 
in  their  sins,  a  lama  (a  priest)  can  forgive  and 
cleanse  away  their  sins.  In  such  vanity  and 
darkness  I  once  was,  but  the  mercy  of  God  re- 
scued me,  opened  my  wicked  heart,  and  show- 
ed me  the  grace  of  Christ.  God's  grace,  and 
Christ's  merciful  love  are  wonderful,  deep, 


ANSWER  OF  THE  REFUGEES.       141 

great.  Ah!  I  was  dead,  but  am  alive,  was 
lost  and  am  found.  When  I  think  of  this,  I 
can  only  wonder.  Ah !  if  we  few  sheep  have 
not  shepherds,  we  shall  be  like  forsaken  ones, 
and  mourn,  but  we  trust  God  will  keep  us, 
and  show  us  what  is  right. 

« My  writing  time  is  ended,  and  I  must 
stop.     Farewell.     Great  peace  to  you! 
"  Your  well-wisher, 

"  Shagdur,  son  of  Kenat. 

^'January  1841." 

This  letter  had  to  be  twice  translated,  first 
by  Mr.  Swan,  into  English,  and  then  by  Mr. 
Freeman,  into  Malagasy.  The  refugees  wrote 
an  answer  to  it,  which  again  had  to  be  trans- 
lated  into  English,  and  then  into  the  language 
of  the  Buriats.     This  is  part  of  their  answer:— 

"Beloved  Friends,— We  have  received 
your  letter  conveyed  to  us  by  the  Rev.  Mr. 
Swan,  and  we  rejoiced  when  we  heard  it 
read  to  us  in  English,  and  again  when  we 
heard  it  in  our  language,  the  Malagasy.  We 
are  delighted  to  find  that  there  are  believers 
in  Christ  in  Siberia,  who  sympathize  with  us; 


142        ANSWER  OF  THE  REFUGEES. 

and  we  bless  God,  who  has  regenerated  your 
hearts  and  ours. 

"We  thank  you  for  the  kind  salutations 
you  have  sent  us  respecting  our  safe  and 
happy  arrival  in  England — a  land  that  God 
preserves  and  watches  over,  that  it  may  be 
for  the  protection  of  all  who  are  distressed. 
We  have  been  exceedingly  grieved,  dear 
friends,  to  hear  of  your  heavy  afflictions.  We 
were  ready  to  say  as  David  formerly  did, 
*  Deep  calleth  unto  deep,'  for  so  it  seemed  in 
relation  to  our  mutual  afflictions,  yours  as  to 
your  friends,  and  ours  as  to  our  friends.  Yes, 
beloved  friends,  our  hearts  were  deeply  affect- 
ed when  we  heard  of  your  painful  separation 
from  your  Christian  teachers.  It  brought  to 
our  recollection  the  day  when  we  separated 
from  our  missionaries  also,  for  that  was  in- 
deed a  dark  day  to  us  when  the  messengers 
of  God  left  us.  Nevertheless,  we  took  confi- 
dence from  the  words  of  Jesus  to  his  disciples : 
If  I  go  not  away,  the  Comforter  will  not 
come  unto  you,  but  if  I  depart,  I  will  send 
him  unto  you.'  That  promise  we  turned  into 
prayer,  and  it  strengthened  our  hearts,  and 
through  his  compassion  we  obtained  strength 
equal  to  the  day  of  our  trial,  and  the  Comfort- 


ANSWER  OF  THE  REFUGEES.       143 

ter,  the  Holy  Spirit,  has  led  us  into  the  truth 
to  follow  it ;  and  many  have  continued  sted- 
fast  to  the  end,  and  have  resisted  even  unto 
the  shedding  of  blood,  as  it  has  been  with 
you. 

"  We  would  say  to  you,  beloved  friends, 
under  your  present  trials,  be  strong  in  your 
prayers  to  God,  and  trust  him  for  ever,  for  ho 
is  a  Saviour  at  hand  in  the  day  of  affliction, 
and  he  knows  them  that  put  their  trust  in  him. 
He  will  never  leave  you  nor  forsake  you,  for 
he  said  to  his  disciples,  *  Lo,  I  am  with  you 
alway,  even  unto  the  end  of  the  world ;'  and 
we  trust  that  he  will  be  with  you,  for  his  love 
does  not  change  towards  them  that  put  their 
trust  in  him. 

"  We  cannot  write  at  any  great  length  to 
you,  beloved  friends,  for  the  time  for  us  to 
leave  England  for  the  Mauritius  is  near  at 
hand,  for  we  are  preparing  our  packages,  and 

have  only  a  few  days  left. It  may  be,  we 

shall  never  have  the  opportunity  of  meeting 
in  this  world,  yet  we  hope  for  a  better  meet- 
ing with  you  when  Jesus  shall  come  to  gather 
in  his  elect  from  the  four  corners  of  the  earth; 
then  shall  we  meet  when  Jesus  shall  say, 
*  Come,  ye  blessed  of  my  Father,  inherit  the 


144       ANSWER  OP  THE  REFUGEES. 

kingdom  prepared  for  you  from  the  founda- 
tion of  the  world.'  And  then  shall  we  be 
able  to  converse  together  on  all  the  sufferings 
which  befell  us  while  we  were  yet  on  earth. 
God  shall  wipe  away  all  tears  from  our  faces, 
and  shall  turn  our  grief  into  joy,  for,  says  the 
Saviour,  *  In  the  world  ye  shall  have  tribula- 
tion,' as  if  he  would  say,  there  is  none  in  hea- 
ven, *  but  I  have  overcome  the  world.' 

"May  the  God  of  love  and  peace  be  with 
vour  spirit,  beloved  friends.  Farewell !  Say — 

"Mary  Rafaravavy. 

"Joseph  Rasoamaka. 

"David  Ratsarahomba. 

"James  Andrianisa. 
"  Walihamstow,  October  1841." 

How  beautiful  is  that  principle  of  Christian 
love  which  can  draw  together  hearts  by  na- 
ture so  widely  separated.  How  sweet  will 
be  their  communion  in  heaven  where  the 
infirmities  of  earth  will  be  unknown,  where 
distance  and  persecution  shall  never  separate 
them,  and  they  shall  for  ever  rejoice  in  the 
presence  of  their  God  and  Saviour ! 


DEPARTURE  OF  THE  REFUGEES.      145 


XXIX. 

DEPARTURE  OF    THE  REFUGEES,   AND    LETTERS  FROM 
MADAGASCAR. 

On  the  5th  of  October,  a  public  service  was 
held  in  London,  to  bid  the  Christians  farewell. 
The  three  young  men  spoke  in  our  lan- 
guage. They  returned  thanks  for  the  many 
kindnesses  they  had  received  in  England,  and 
begged  that  English  Christians  would  pray 
earnestly  for  Madagascar,  for  their  queen, 
and  for  them.  Rafaravavy  answered  ques- 
tions in  her  own  language,  and  Mr.  Freeman 
interpreted.  On  Tuesday,  October  12,  the 
four  refugees,  Rafaravavy,  Joseph,  David,  and 
James,  with  Mrs.  Johns,  embarked  for  Mauri- 
tius. A  large  party  of  Christian  friends  ac- 
companied them  to  the  ship. 

A  letter,  written  by  Mr.  Baker,  the  mission- 
ary printer  in  Mauritius,  dated  August  1841, 
mentions  that  two  hundred  Christians  in  Ma- 
dagascar were  then  wandering  from  moun- 
tain to  mountain  in  search  of  food,  and  to  es- 
cape their  persecutors.  The  queen  had  given 
orders  that  wherever  they  were  found  they 
should  immediately  be  put  to  death ;  that  a 
13 


146     ,  LETTERS  FROM  MADAGASCAR. 

hole  should  be  dug  in  the  ground,  and  that 
they  should  be  put  in  head  foremost,  and  boil- 
ing water  poured  over  them  to  destroy  them. 
Mr.  Baker  also  sent  over  two  letters  from 
those  at  the  capital.  Here  is  an  extract  from 
one,  to  a  friend  on  the  coast  of  Madagascar, 
dated 

*^Tananarivo,  June  25,  1841. 

"  Our  salutations  to  you,  say  the  little  flock 
in  Madagascar.  Through  the  blessing  of 
God  on  us,  we  are  yet  alive,  and  do  not  for- 
get you,  and  all  our  friends.  Affliction  greatly 
increases.  Executions,  miseries,  and  ordeals 
throughout  the  country  increase,  so  that  three 
thousand  persons  have  lately  taken  the  tan- 
gena  in  Vonizongo,  by  order  of  the  sovereign 
and  the  officers,  and  at  other  places  it  has 
been  the  same.  The  wretchedness  of  the 
people  is  unutterable." 

They  then  mention,  that  the  bearer  of  the 
letter  may  be  safely  trusted  with  messages,  and 
add,  "  Tell  him  what  you  advise  us  to  do.  Do 
rescue  us,  beloved  father,  if  possible.  If  God 
be  not  our  defence,  we  are  dead  men ;  we 
are  as  a  city  set  on  a  hill,  that  cannot  be  hid. 

"  Our  government  service  continues  to  be 
excessively  severe.    When   the  children  of 


LETTERS   FROM   MADAGASCAR.  147 

Israel  served  under  Pharaoh,  peihaps  they 
gained  some  httle  respite,  at  any  rate  by  night; 
but  ours  is  incessant  labour ;  we  must  work 
both  day  and  night" 

Here  is  part  of  a  second  letter,  to  the  same 
friend,  written  about  the  same  time  by  four 
other  Christians : 

"  To  you,  beloved  friend,  health  and  happi- 
ness. We  have  received  your  letter,  and  the 
various  things  sent  with  it,  cloth,  soap,  and 
salt.  May  God  bless  you  for  the  compassion 
you  have  shown  to  the  suffering  and  afflicted 
people  of  God.  We  have,  indeed,  in  you  a 
friend.  It  is  not  in  our  power  to  repay  you. 
May  He  bless  you,  and  all  that  is  yours. 

"You  desire  us  to  come  to  you;  that  is 
good ;  but,  as  yet,  there  is  too  much  public 
business  on  the  road  to  permit  the  attempt. 
Many  are  engaged,  going  and  returning,  in 
conveying  timber  from  the  forest,  for  building 
houses  for  the  queen.  The  path  is  therefore, 
dear  friend,  too  narrow  as  yet;  but,  through 
the  blessing  of  God,  we  do  hope  to  meet  you. 

"  You  exhort  us  to  take  courage,  and  not 
to  be  cast  down.  We  accept  your  exhorta- 
tion, and  we  take  all  confidence,  and  rejoice; 
and  you  further  ask  us,  if  there  is  any  thing 


\14B       LETTERS  FROM  MADAGASCAR. 

we  want ;  adding,  that  we  should  write  and 
tell  you.  Now  there  is  one  point  on  which 
we  are  much  afflicted — our  want  of  Bibles. 
We  can  conceal  them,  though  there  are  many 
enemies.   Those  we  possess  are  quite  worn  out. 

"  And  with  regard  to  the  means  of  our  sup- 
port, it  may  be  said  we  have  and  we  have 
not.  All  our  property  was  taken  from  us  be- 
fore we  were  reduced  to  slavery.  However, 
this  is  the  word  of  the  Lord,  '  Consider  the 
ravens ;  they  sow  not,  they  reap  not,  yet  God 
feedeth  them ;'  and  just  so,  beloved  friend,  the 
Lord  has  pity  on  us ! 

"  We  have  been  in  very  great  affliction  and 
danger,  but  God  has  mercifully  preserved  us 
hitherto.  Salutations  to  all  the  congrega- 
tion with  you,  from  the  little  flock  scattered, 
for  the  shepherds  are  gone." 

Mrs.  Johns  and  her  four  companions  reach- 
ed Mauritius  on  the  22nd  of  January  1842. 
Mr.  Johns  made  several  little  voyages  to  dif- 
ferent parts  on  the  coast  of  Madagascar.  He 
wished,  if  possible,  to  succour  some  of  the 
persecuted  Christians,  and  to  find  out  some 
place  out  of  the  power  of  the  queen,  at  which 
teachers  could  be  left.  At  last  he  succeeded 
in  fixing  Rafaravavy  and  Joseph  on  a  little 


LETTERS   FROM   MADAGASCAR.  149 

island  off  the  western  coast.  Here  they  be- 
gan to  teach  the  chiefs  and  people  to  read  the 
Bible.  They  had  many  pupils,  and  were 
much  encouraged,  when  the  French  came, 
and  brought  a  Roman  Catholic  priest  instead, 
and  drove  them  away. 

Letters  from  Madagascar  in  1842  and  1843 
tell  the  same  tale  as  the  letters  of  1841.  Here 
is  one  of  them : — 

^^  Antananarivo^  July  8,  1842. 

"  May  you  live  and  be  blessed  of  God,  0 
beloved  friend  !  I  tell  you  that  our  trials  are 
greater  now  than  ever,  because  the  number 
of  the  persecuted  Christians  is  increasing 
daily.  The  officers  of  the  queen  are  search- 
ing for  them  everywhere  to  put  them  to  death. 
We  do  not  know  what  to  do,  as  the  road  for 
escape  in  all  directions  is  almost  impassable, 
and  our  hiding-places  are  nearly  all  known  to 
our  enemies,  so  that  the  persecuted  Christians 
are  at  present  truly  afflicted.  If  you  can  find 
any  way  for  us  to  escape,  write  to  us  imme- 
diately, in  answer  to  this  letter.  And  may  you 
live  and  be  blessed  of  God,  O  beloved  friend  !" 

Other  letters  relate  how  more  of  the  Chris- 
tians have  suffered  martyrdom,  and  have  been 

faithful  unto  death. 

13* 


150  LIGHT  BREAKING. 

XXX. 


LIGHT  BREAKING. 


Now  I  am  going  to  tell  you  of  some  glorious 
news  that  has  just  come  to  England.  The 
prayers  we  have  offered  for  Madagascar  have 
not  been  in  vain.  Dear  children,  your  prayers 
have  helped  to  win  this  joy. 

Who  do  you  think  has  begun  to  love  the 
Saviour?  The  queen?  No;  not  the  queen 
herself,  but  you  are  very  near.  The  queen's 
only  son,  Ra-kotond-radama,  the  heir-appar- 
ent to  the  throne. 

We  will  tell  you  how  it  was.  After  the 
nine  Christians  were  put  to  death  in  1840,  the 
remainder  became  discouraged,  and  they 
were  almost  ready  to  let  go  their  faith.  But 
there  was  one  young  man,  who  did  not  yield 
to  fear.  He  was  called  by  his  brethren, 
Ra-salasala,  or.  The  Bold  One.  He  grew  the 
more  courageous  as  the  others  grew  faint,  and 
he  held  meetings  among  them,  and  preached 
to  them  every  Sunday,  and  Wednesday,  and 
Saturday.  Many  came  to  hear  and  a  hun- 
dred were  converted ;  and  amongst  those  who 
were  converted,  was  Ra-kotond-radama.  See 
what  good  one  earnest  Christian  can  do,  when 


LIGHT  BREAKING.  151 

all  beside  are  lukewarm.  See  what  good 
one  youth  may  do. 

Five  months  after  Ra-kotond-radama  had 
begun  to  believe  in  Jesus,  twenty-one  of  the 
Christians  were  made  prisoners  by  the  cruel 
queen.  Every  one  thought  they  would  be  put 
to  death.  Now,  what  did  the  young  prince 
do?  Did  he  keep  silence,  and  let  them  die, 
lest  his  mother  should  be  angry,  and  kill  him 
too?  No,  he  spoke  out.  He  begged  his 
mother  to  spare  him.  And  God  caused  her 
to  hearken  to  the  entreaties  of  the  boy,  and 
she  saved  their  lives. 

Ra-kotond-radama  is  seventeen  years  of 
age.  It  is  a  very  hard  word,  but  I  hope  you 
will  master  it,  so  that  you  may  be  able  to  pro- 
nounce it  quite  easily,  and  use  it  in  talking  to 
one  another,  and  use  it  in  prayer  to  God,  for 
Ra-kotond-radama  wants  you  to  pray  for  him. 
Kind  Mr.  Freeman,  who  lived  in  Madagas- 
car some  years,  and  knows  all  about  the 
Malagasy  language,  has  explained  to  us  the 
meaning  of  the  name,  and  told  us  how  to  pro- 
nounce it.  The  letter  a  is  to  be  sounded  Hke  a 
in  the  word  father;  and  the  letter  o  is  to  be 
sounded  like  o  in  the  word  who,  i.  e.  as  oo. 
The  emphasis  is  to  be  laid  on  the  second  and 


1 52  CONCLUSION. 

fifth  syllables.  The  meaning  is,  "  the  son,  or 
youth,  of  Radama."  Radama  was  the  name 
of  the  late  king,  his  father.  Ra  is  simply  a 
prefix  to  proper  names  in  common  use  in 
Madagascar;  Koto  is  "a  youth,"  "a  son;"  nd 
is  for  ny,  a  pronoun,  signifying  of  him,  y  being 
changed  into  d  for  the  sake  of  sound  before 
the  r. 

Now  you  understand  the  word,  and  can 
pronounce  it,  I  hope. 

Oh  !  let  this  great  answer  to  prayer,  which 
God  has  sent  us,  make  us  bold  in  asking  for 
other  things !  Let  us  pray  for  the  young 
prince,  that  he  may  hold  on  his  way,  even 
though  his  mother  should  threaten  him  with 
degradation  or  with  death.  Let  us  pray  on, 
and,  perhaps,  the  next  news  will  be,  that  the 
queen  herself  is  converted,  and  that  the  perse- 
cution has  quite  ceased. 


XXXI. 

CONCLUSION. 

Dear  young  Friends, — This  little  book  is  not 
intended  for  your  amusement  only.  It  has 
been  written  to  excite  your  pity  for  the  guilty, 
miserable  heathen,  that  you  may  resolve  to 
do  your  utmost  to  send  the  Gospel  of  the 


CONCLUSION.  153 

blessed  Jesus  to  all  the  world.  When  that 
has  touched  all  hearts,  war,  and  torture,  and 
ordeals  will  be  unknown:  there  will  be  no 
bloody  persecutors,  no  cruel  queens  then. 

Especially  do  we  want  you  to  pity  and 
pray  for  the  Christians  of  Madagascar.  You 
may  send  them  relief;  you  may  help  them  to 
escape ;  and  you  should  be  eager  to  do  this  ; 
but  God  alone  can  change  the  hearts  of  the 
queen  of  Madagascar  and  of  her  officers,  and 
to  Him,  therefore,  must  you  chiefly  look.  If 
the  dear  Christian  people  of  that  island  were 
in  prosperity,  and  you  were  in  affliction,  they 
would  not  be  slow  to  feel  for  you;  and  because 
you  have  every  thing  to  make  you  happy,  will 
you  forget  how  they  are  suffering  ? .  Oh !  when 
in  peace  and  plenty  you  gather  around  the  well- 
furnished  table,  and  from  day  to  day  are 
clothed,  and  warmed,  and  fed,  think  of  those 
who  are  enduring  hunger,  and  thirst,  and  cold, 
and  nakedness.  When  sheltered  beneath  your 
father's  roof  from  summer's  heat  and  winter's 
cold,  or  resting  your  head  on  your  pillow  at 
the  close  of  day,  to  pass  the  night  in  dream- 
less and  refreshing  sleep,  think  of  those  who 
are  "  wandering  in  deserts  and  mountains,  in 
dens  and  caves  of  the  earth."  "  In  the  day 
the  drought  consumes  them,  and  the  frost  by 


154  CONCLUSION. 

night."  When  fathers  and  mothers,  brothers 
and  sisters,  smile  upon  you,  and  you  rejoice 
in  their  affection,  think  of  those  who  have  be- 
come outcasts  from  the  homes  and  hearts  so 
dear  to  them,  for  the  sake  of  Jesus.  When,  as 
the  Sabbath  morning  returns,  you  go  hand  in 
hand  with  dear  parents  to  the  house  of  God, 
and  join  with  them  in  the  song  of  praise,  and 
kneel  with  them  in  prayer,  and  listen  to  the 
words  of  life  and  love  from  the  lips  of  your 
pastors  and  teachers,  think  of  the  persecuted 
wanderers  on  the  hills  of  Madagascar,  hiding 
their  Bibles  in  the  earth,  and  forbidden  to 
mention  the  very  name  of  Jesus. 

And  are  there  any  of  you,  who,  though 
young  in  years,  have  already  been  called  to 
stand  by  the  death-beds  of  dear  parents,  and 
relatives,  and  friends,  ministering  to  their 
comfort  by  every  means  that  love  and  ten- 
derness could  suggest,  and  following  them  to 
the  grave,  while  weeping  friends  united  to 
comfort  you  ?  Surely  you  must  have  felt  for 
the  rnartyrs  of  Madagascar.  No  pitying  eye 
but  that  of  their  heavenly  Father  looked  on 
them ;  fierce  soldiers  stood  around  them ;  they 
perished  by  the  hand  of  violence ;  their  bodies 
were  left  to  the  dogs,  and  their  bones  to  the 
winds  of  heaven.     Think  of  all  these  things, 


CONCLUiJlON.  155 

and  while  with  a  grateful  heart  you  bless  your 
heavenly  Father  for  his  goodness  to  you,  ask 
of  him  the  same  mercies  for  the  Christians 
who  are  yet  suffering  in  Madagascar. 

Did  it  ever  come  into  your  minds  that  days 
of  persecution  may  be  in  store  for  you  ?  Did 
you  ever  ask  yourselves  whether  you  could 
stand  the  test  of  martyrdom  ?  Would  you 
"  choose  rather  to  suffer  affliction  with  the 
people  of  God,  than  to  enjoy  the  pleasures  of 
sin  for  a  season  ?"  If  you  would  have  the 
faith,  and  fortitude,  and  joy  of  the  martyrs  of 
Madagascar,  you  must  seek  strength  where 
they  found  it — at  the  foot  of  the  Cross — in  the 
constant  prayerful  study  of  God's  blessed 
word — and  in  holding  fast  the  hope  of  eternal 
life  through  Christ  Jesus. 

If  not  called  to  suffer,  are  you  at  all  events 
ready  to  live  for  Christ?  Are  you  resolved 
to  spend  and  to  be  spent  for  him  ?  To  labour 
for  wealth  that  you  may  consecrate  it  to  his 
service  ?  For  influence,  that  you  may  lay  it 
at  his  feet?  To  leave  all  whom  you  love,  and 
go  and  preach  him  among  the  Gentiles,  if  he 
should  so  ordain?  You  must  enter  into  the 
labours  of  his  servants,  if  you  would  share  in 
their  reward. 

And  do  not  fix  your  thoughts  on  their  pre- 


15G  CONCLUSION. 

sent  sufferings  alone.  These  are  but  the  things 
of  a  moment.  Before  the  throne  of  God  there 
stands  a  glorious  company,  gathered  "  out  of 
all  nations,  and  kindreds,  and  people,  and  ton- 
gues." Rasalama  and  Rafaralahy,  and  others 
from  Madagascar  are  there.  Do  they  now 
regret  the  transient  sufferings  of  earth  1  Do 
they  wish  that  they  could  have  escaped  the 
spear  which  called  them  into  the  presence  of 
Him  whose  side  was  pierced  for  them  ?  Do 
they  think  of  the  cave,  the  forest,  and  the 
mountain, — the  chilling  cold,  and  the  burning 
heat  of  Madagascar  now?  No,  they  bless  the 
day  which  brought  the  gospel  to  their  shores, 
even  though  deadly  persecution  followed  in  its 
train.  They  came  indeed  "  out  of  great  tribu- 
lation," but  they  are  now  "clothed  in  white 
robes,  and  have  palms  in  their  hands."  They 
"hunger  no  more,  neither  thirst  any  more;" 
the  sun  lights  not  on  them,  "nor  any  heat;" 
and  God  has  wiped  "away  all  tears  from 
their  eyes." 

Dear  young  friends,  do  you  propose,  by 
God's  grace  assisting  you,  to  meet  them 
there? 

THE    END. 


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